SHOWING is many things to people within the horse world. To its steadfast supporters, the winter countdown to showtime is long as the months tick away to the next show season.
January news items included confirmation that the Clifden Pony Show would remain in the town, following the establishment of an independent showing committee.
On a less positive note, the January 31st issue carried a story about the cancellation for this year of the superb Clarecastle Show, due to the lack of a suitable date, an issue that has hopefully been resolved for 2026.
The Irish Pony Society (IPS) Diamond Awards were held in March in the Killashee House Hotel and, in the same month, Minister Dara Calleary launched the 2025 Irish Shows Association (ISA) yearbook and Tattersalls announced their fitting sponsorship of the Treo Eile Showing Pathway Series.
The first showing photos filtered in from the Show of the East in the April 12th issue, followed by the sad news that Margaret Shaw, the Irish Horse World’s UK showing contributor, had passed away, which was carried in the April 26th edition. Three other springtime losses were the Irish Draught stalwarts Ellen Walton and Stephen Costello and the noted IPS judge Dorothy Guildford.
The 4am starts and litres of lorry diesel, shampoo and hoof oil consumption resumed and, as the show season got into full swing, Cara Foley and Thorndale Melody were the supreme champions at the IPS Spring Show at Mullingar EC.
Connolly’s Red Mills announced their seventh year of sponsorship of the Champion of Champions series, including a new Grand Slam of Showing and, in the same May 10th issue, the Northern Ireland Festival report appeared. From 2,400 entries, supreme champions included Susan Fanning and Tara Murphy’s Taughblane Dancer (ridden horse), John McDaid’s Tul Na Ri (working hunter), Grace Maxwell Murphy’s Glenville Glic (ridden pony) and Amanda Doyle’s Telynau Darwin (working hunter pony).
The Crosstown Dancer-sired Taughblane Dancer would later add the amateur ridden titles at the Connolly’s Red Mills Champions of Champions final and Tattersalls July Show as the year progressed.
Native breeds shone through at Balmoral in May as the pure-bred Draught pair of Dermot Molloy’s working hunter and performance Irish Draught dual champion Two Mile Nigel and Grace Maxwell Murphy’s hunter champion Tulcon Hero took centre stage when taking top honours.
Similarly, there was another double when Amira Curran won the Connemara ridden and working hunter titles with Caherpuca Chappy and Katie Tobin’s Tawnagh Lad was the working hunter pony champion.
The Balmoral drought ended for Irish Horse Board chairman Tiernan Gill when he won his first young horse title with the three-year-old Flogas Syb and Marianne Power’s mini champion Rookery Haribo kicked off his outstanding year.
Ann Grimes’ Lambay I’m Amazing was the supreme champion at the Welsh Pony and Cob Society of Ireland show at Kilbride.
Millie Toomey and Rookery Haribo were crowned supreme champion at the IPS Summer Show in Mullingar and went on to win at the Dublin Horse Show \ John O'Carroll Photography
Dedicated roles
At Westport in June, former Minister Michael Ring called on agricultural shows to reinvent themselves by widening their appeal. Looking back through agricultural show catalogues of 20 years ago shows an alarming dive in the number of young horse and broodmare entries in particular and the same Mayo show was the first round of the new Ireland West young horse series, which hoped to reverse that trend.
Olivia Connolly’s Mountain Hideaway was the supreme showing champion at the annual AIRC Festival at Mullingar.
The first sighting of the future Dublin supreme champion hunter - PJ Casey’s Raglan Road - was made at Athlone Show and again at Longford, where the HHS Cornet gelding was champion at both midland venues.
Athlone and Charleville’s Dublin qualifiers proved lucky for several by August, including the future RDS side saddle winner, Leonie O’Gorman’s elegant Lackaghbeg Augustus Star.
Keith Martin and Kate Boyce’s pair of Rathmorrissey Lord of the Dance (the Connolly’s Red Mills Champion of Champions final victor at Barnadown) and Sweet Forget Me Not recorded champion horse doubles at Charleville and Newcastle West. Charleville, one of the few remaining two-day agricultural shows where the other supreme title went to Katelyn O’Driscoll’s in-hand pony Glenard Little Spectacular, enforced a welcome ‘no late entries’ policy this year.
Another smart move by some agricultural shows is an equine secretary role, for example Athlone’s Melissa Glynn and Bernie Whyte at Longford County, where show jumper Jordan Kilkenny made a flying visit home from California in July to present his grandfather Frank’s cup for the champion hunter.
The launch of the 150th Dublin Horse Show featured in the July 5th issue and then the south-east (and Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy) took a day off to head to Bannow and Rathangan Show, where Sharon Murphy won the All-Ireland three-year-old final with Annaghmore Flo Pleasure, a half-brother to her 2024 champion Annaghmore Dunkirk.
Castleview Lady Georgina, owned by Valerie Davis, was the supreme champion at the IDHBA Westmeath/Offaly show in Moate.
Paddy Reape, fresh from a team gold medal at the European show jumping junior championships in Riesenbeck, was amongst the spectators at Ballina Show and another show jumping link was seen at Granard Show the following week where Pat Murphy, son of Boomerang’s breeder Jimmy, was in attendance at Eddie Macken’s home show.
Rookery Haribo’s triumphant march continued when the Welsh gelding was the supreme champion at the IPS summer championships, also held in Mullingar EC. The Kiltinan Stud All-Ireland pony supreme champion final at Killusty Show went to Aoife O’Connor’s Griffinstown.
The Irish-bred Mulberry Lane won the Barberstown Castle supreme ridden horse championship for a second year in a row at the Royal International Horse Show, held at Hickstead, where Blarney Quercus won the Irish Draught ridden championship, a new showcase for Irish Draughts on the UK show circuit.
Bannside Dancer was the ridden hunter champion at Tattersalls July Show for Jamie Smyth. Bred by his late grandfather Samuel Smyth, he won the lightweight hunter title at Dublin weeks later. This show raised €26,000 for St Francis Hospice with the presentation cheque handover featured in the November 25th issue.
PJ Casey blowing his hunting horn against the backdrop of the iconic RDS clock after winning the supreme hunter championship on Raglan Road \ Siobhan English Photography
Dublin Central
The August 2nd issue contained the Dublin Horse Show preview pullout and the following two weeks were filled with the stories of champions. “Should show horses be mannerly?” was a major talking point at and after Dublin, where the RDS landscape was dramatically different with the old Anglesea Stand gone.
Several champions were sold, including supreme champion Raglan Road, sold to Scotland. Nicola Perrin’s Ballarin Rosalin, also the hunter mare and four-year-old champion, stood supreme reserve.
Valerie Davis’ Becca Baby and Cloughroe Maximus (show jumping) and Martin and Mary Murphy’s Castlegate Sweet Emotion with a Sligo Candy Boy foal (eventing) emerged as this year’s champions in The Irish Field Breeders’ Championship finals.
It was a double-double for Donegal owner Valerie Davis, whose Castleview Lady Georgina won the Draught mare title; her breeders - Kenny and Wendy Bell - won the Irish Draught foal championship with Castleview Lady Charlotte.
Her sire - Pat Hoare’s Moylough Legacy - was another to retain a 2024 title by winning the Irish Draught stallion class again, while Meelin Stud’s Alhebayeb won the Croker Cup awarded to the champion thoroughbred stallion.
Birgitte Vonk, Two Mile Nigel’s new Dutch owner, was present to watch him win the Irish Draught four/five-year-old championship, while Liam Lynskey’s versatile stallion DS Ballagh Bouncer won the six-year-old and over final.
Assagart Hopeful made it nine Coote Cup broodmare title wins for the Roche family. The late Mags Roche and Michael McCarthy, who won the Breeders’ Championship 25 years ago with Levacide and her foal Kilnagross Twinkle, were two more late exhibitors whose presence was missed at Dublin.
Olga Doyle’s Juana Moussarderie won the Broodmare Futurity final and more coveted Dublin titles were won by Megan Hamill’s Redwood Quality Street (Sportsman hunter), Glenn Knipe’s Murrisk Hill Seasmoke (cob), Leonie O’Gorman’s Lackaghbeg Augustus Star (side saddle), Katie Crozier’s Darrowby Cougar (intermediate side saddle), Andrea McKee’s Ebony King (small hunter), Gillian Torrens’ Redmays Romeo (riding horse), Debbie Harrod’s Knockroe Flash (coloured) and the final horse championship on Sunday evening went to John McDaid’s Tul Na Rí (working hunter).
Connemara champions included Kathryn Smiley’s Eastlands Jolly Brae (ridden), Richard and Geraldine Power’s Pine View Ice Cool (five to seven-year-old performance) and Naomi Murphy’s Pem Boy (eight to 15-year-old).
Penny Murphy’s Kontiki won the working hunter pony and Keith Moran’s Scalacre Eclipse show hunter pony title added to a year that ended in several awards at the IPS Limerick/Clare night in November.
Rookery Haribo’s red ribbon run continued by winning both the hunter pony lead rein and first ridden classes for Millie and Penny Toomey, while another of the youngest Dublin winners was Myia Latto with Chaseford Camilia (show pony lead rein).
Pat Finn’s Dublin filly champion Frenchfort Kildysart Lady reversed the three-year-old championship result - won by Aidan and Lucinda Willamson’s home-bred KLF Robinhood - when she won the Laidlaw Cup as overall young horse champion.
She then completed a hat-trick of All-Ireland filly titles by adding the three-year-old championship, relocated this year to Tydavnet.
Style vs substance
In a follow-up article (August 23rd issue), Wexford emerged as the county that had produced the most showring winners at this year’s Dublin Horse Show and one such Model County breeder, Eileen Furlong, won the All-Ireland filly foal final at Moate with Thistletown Victoria.
In the post-Dublin weeks, Patrick Curran’s home-bred Glencarrig Douvan made history at the 100th Connemara Pony Show in Clifden, when he won both the in-hand and ridden championships.
Young horse entries fall after Dublin and, as the outdoor season wound down, Des McDonnell’s Lucky Jim won the inaugural Ireland West young horse championship final at Ballinrobe.
Dermot Forde’s holiday purchase Quilty Queen (vet colleague Daryl Noble also owns a half-share), was the overall champion at the TIHA performance show at Mullingar.
The big Irish-bred showring winner at the Horse of the Year Show was Shanaghan Velvet, bred by Esther Skelly-Smith, who kept up the Irish-bred strike rate in the Hunter of the Year finale.
Nancy Lyons Teehan recorded an Irish win in the HOYS 133cm working hunter pony class with Dartans Séoda Bán, while another cross-channel trip saw Tipperary’s Evie Kennedy and the Connemara Little Dromin Phoenix win at the BSPS summer championships.
Natives
On the native front, Chris Carter’s Cloonan Hector was supreme champion at the Dublin IDHBA show. Lisa Baker’s Malahow’s Grace’s Legacy (supreme in-hand champion) and Dermot Molloy’s Cummermore Lad (supreme ridden champion) were the big winners at a lively IDHBA national show in Punchestown.
Sadly, it proved to be the final time the late Matthew O’Meara was to present his Milestone Cup and another loss in 2025 was judge David Cotter, equally at home in the showring or point-to-point field.
On that thoroughbred topic, Cheveley Park Stud’s A Plus Tard - Henry de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore’s 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup victor - won at Balmoral and Dublin with Emily Kate Robinson.
The Tattersalls Treo Eile showing pathway series final was held in Iverk, where the novice section was won by Amy Kinane’s Khafaaq and another former Cheltenham Gold Cup winner (2018) Native River and Emily McMahon won the open division. Treo Eile’s popular Christmas Show took place on December 11th at Emerald Equestrian Centre.
One of the most amusing Pony Tales vignettes was the story of a making-amends gift arriving in the post ‘from’ Moylough Ambassador to his handler Laura Tarpey, after the exuberant colt led her on several high-speed laps of Ring 1 during the Dublin mare and foal classes.
There were plenty of other stories throughout the show season, which can be accessed through The Irish Field e-paper over the holidays.
2026 show world resolutions? One thought combing through the pages is how some shows now rely on images, instead of results. Style over substance? Reading the complete results pages on a Saturday morning is a ritual for many exhibitors, who will shortly be on currycomb duty as spring coats come through and schooling their latest hopefuls under lights, ready to do it all over again for another show season.
Emily Woods and the delightful dun Coco Carel at Charleville Show \ Susan Finnerty
What they said
“My husband Mick O’Dowd is well known in the GAA world, so this is a first for our family, where it’s actually me and not him in the paper!” - Jenny Banks, breeder of Malahow Grace’s Legacy, had her time to shine post-Punchestown.
“The national show jumping championships in Salthill brought massive crowds too. We were one of the sponsors and there was a Galway Crystal sign just in front of the RTÉ cameras, so it was fantastic advertising for us. I remember Brian McSharry, of course, there were Galway hooker boats out in Galway Bay, so that was a great backdrop for their cameras. We gave Galway Crystal trophies to the winners. I said to Paul Darragh that we’d arrange to have his trophy sent to him, but he wanted to take it home then and there in the lorry, the riders loved to have those trophies.
“Then the local residents were unhappy about the lorries and the parking so the championships moved to the Claddagh. It was never the same once it moved from Salthill.” - James Callaghan, Galway Crystal and Belleek China, reminisced at Bannow and Rathangan about the Salthill national show jumping championships era.
“We have a WhatsApp group for the stewards and every result is immediately snapped and sent to this group chat to cross-check throughout the day and for championships. Then we have several stewards, who have shown horses and ponies for years, and know every rule in the book.” - Elaine Goold, Charleville Show secretary. That all shows may be this efficient one day.
“I’m very proud of Showing Ireland’s association with the Connolly’s Red Mills champion of champions, which I thought was one of the best finals I’ve seen in years. The livestream reached out to those worldwide looking for top-class Irish show horses.” - Angus McDonnell, Showing Ireland chairman.
“I’m here every year, keeping up the family tradition! My late father Paddy Murphy was a livestock dealer and he loved horses. Walter Kent, the 92 years young show president, and himself would have been great friends and Killag was the highlight of his year. It was a big break from the farming to come and see what was one of his favourite pastimes: horses.” - Verona Murphy about how a day at Bannow and Rathangan was a family tradition.
“Fair enough, we were down the line, but that will happen. Different strokes for different folks.” - John Roche, was philosophical about the showing results and judges’ choices.