Ballina

BALLINA Show celebrates its 86th anniversary tomorrow where a range of showing and show jumping classes are set to take place in the Ballina Stephenites Showgrounds.

The annual show dovetails too with the north Mayo town’s hugely popular Ballina Salmon Festival, which begins today (Saturday) and runs through July 20th. Having an agricultural show in the town is an added feature for the festival and its grand finale is next Saturday night’s always-spectacular fireworks display above the River Moy.

Ballina’s three young horse classes also serve as the third round of the Ireland West Young Horse Championship, held this summer in partnership with Baileys Horse Feeds.

Two rounds of this 10 western show-collaboration have already taken place at Westport and Enniscrone and, after Ballina, there’s six more opportunities to qualify for the grand final at Ballinrobe (Sunday, September 7th).

To qualify for the final, youngstock must compete in their age class at any three of the remaining shows: Louisburgh (July 20th), Crossmolina (July 26th), Erris (July 27th), Claremorris (August 3rd), Bonniconlon (August 4th) and Swinford (August 24th).

Open to exhibitors nationwide, the venture is intended to boost young horse entries. Three classes for yearlings, two-year-olds and three-year-olds, each with a €700 prize fund, will be held at Ballinrobe in September when the top-two from each class qualify for the overall championship. A tonne of Baileys Horse Feeds is another incentive for exhibitors at September’s final.

As well as the ubiquitious musical entertainment for the general public footfall - Ciarán Rosney is tomorrow afternoon’s guest performer - there’s two loose jumping classes for three-year-old horses and ponies, plus plenty of show jumping classes too.

The Jack Dodd 1.10m speed class, named in honour of her good friend, is a special one for Ballina show secretary Grace Kelly and always attracts an exceptional entry.

Not only is there a €3,000 prize fund put up this year by Mercury Renewables and Hi Five Clothing, there is also a €500 bonus and bursary with an international Irish rider for the highest-placed Children on Horses or junior rider in this class.

<B>Bridgetown

The South East Clare Show, or Bridgetown as its also known as to exhibitors, is held downriver from another Ballina. The Tipperary town namesake is divided by the river Shannon from its Banner County ‘twin’: Killaloe.

Killaloe Sport Horses’ Rosemarie Stuart is the assistant secretary of the new committee for the revamped South East Clare Show. Cancelled in 2024, this year’s show is back for its 32nd anniversary and has a range of new championships too for Sunday, July 27th.

Embrace FARM is the show’s charity of choice this year. A post-show donation will be made to this non-profit organisation that provides practical and emotional support to farm families across Ireland who have been affected by serious injury or sudden death on the farm.

Having hosted the All-Ireland yearling filly final over the past decade, this championship is one of the centrepieces of the horse showing classes and is sponsored this year by Stephen Howard, of S.M Electrical and Mechanical.

Other classes in the new schedule include the €900 Champion of Champions title in the young horse section for the various age champions and the South East Clare broodmare championship.

This one, confined to 15 entries, carries a prize fund of €4,000, plus the additional advantage of stallion nominations. Like the Baileys Horse Feed bonus at Ballinrobe, these additions are always a welcome bonus for breeders when rising costs are a common topic.

Like its north Mayo counterpart, Clare is another area renowned for producing three-year-olds on the lunge - the late Michael Skehan from nearby Broadford was one such gifted horseman - and naturally there are lunging competitions scheduled too for that Sunday.

Both three-year-old horses and three/four-year-old ponies will be catered for in two competitions with a prize fund of €1,350 on offer.

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Tydavnet Show chairperson Paula Loughran on All Ireland filly foal final stewarding duty at Moate Show where Eyleen Nugent was one of the judges \ Susan Finnerty

Tydavnet

It’s proving to be quite a summer of ‘musical finals’ this year. Scariff (Sunday, September 7th), which had previously hosted the Irish Shows Association’s All-Ireland yearling filly final, now hosts the 2025 colt foal final.

This had previously been held at the much-missed Clarecastle Show, sitting out this year in the absence of a suitable show date for its various championships.

In another move, the All-Ireland three-year-old filly final shifts northwards from Dungarvan in Co Waterford to Tydavnet (Saturday, August 16th).

The Show Grounds in Drumshervra, Scotstown is the host venue for the Tydavnet Parish Agricultural Show – to give the Drumlin County’s event its full title.

It’s the first time the Co Monaghan show, celebrating its 72nd anniversary this summer, has hosted an All-Ireland equine final, so a proud moment for its chairperson Paula Loughran.

The Galway Crystal/Belleek All-Ireland three-year-old final was decided on Thursday at Bannow & Rathangan (see News for the 2025 champion result).

This Wexford final is always an open championship for both geldings and fillies and, at the time of writing, Rebecca Monahan’s Notalot was the only filly to have ever won the Bannow crown back in 2015.

There’s always a highest-placed filly prize on offer for the final at the Wexford show and Tydavnet’s day then offers a fillies-only opportunity for these three-year-olds.

Monaghan county is synonymous with top names in the equestrian world, from Clem McMahon, Pacino, Eamon and Gladys McArdle’s Drumhowan Stud, Flagmount Diamond – sire of Nick Skelton’s Dublin Grand Prix winner Hopes Are High and Olympic medallist greats, such as Ringwood Cockatoo and Ben Along Time.

And, of course, the county’s association with a certain country and western singer. Little surprise so, to see that the winner of the Tydavnet first ridden class will also lay their hands on none other than the Big Tom Cup!

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