ATHLONE’s new 50-50 combination championship turned out to be a hit on a sun-scorched day. Six previous RDS Breeders’ Championship-winning owners, plus several ‘frequent flyers’ were amongst 14 entries in the inaugural €5,000 Jim Derwin-sponsored championship.

A ‘Plan B’ measure was put in place by several shows after the Breeders’ Championship cancellation in February. Athlone, like other qualifying shows, was proud to host the Breeders’ Championship midlands qualifier. Amongst the Athlone-qualified strike rate in the Dublin final were last year’s eventing section winner owners, Martin and Mary Murphy and the eventing and show jumping reserves, Hurst Show Team and Pat Finn.

Show chairman PJ Glynn and the committee put much thought into Sunday’s event, bringing back the triangle format and judges Magnus and Kate Nicholson over from the UK, the Irish Sport Horse’s largest market lifeline.

The largest ringside crowd of the day - second only to showgoers bopping to Declan Nerney - watched throughout the class and as the results were announced in reverse order.

Sixth was John McDonnell’s previous Dublin champion CBI Ice Queen (Baltic VDL) and her Vancouver colt; fifth was Hurst Show Team with Kilmanahan Tajraasi Sue (Tajraasi) and fourth was last year’s show jumping mare champion, Valerie Davis’s Becca Baby (OBOS Quality) now with a United Spirit filly at foot.

As the excitement built, John Roche was called forward in third with Assagart Hopeful (Castleforbes Lord Lancer), a daughter of his 2013 Breeders’ Championship-winning mare Assagart My Only Hope, and her Call Me Number One filly. Pat Finn’s Penelope (Jardonnay VDL), plus her Hardrock VDL foal, added another reserve title, to match her result in the final Breeders’ Championship last August.

The inaugural Athlone champion was Paula Howard’s Tullabeg Hello and Cascari colt, shown by Davy Lyons and Tiffany Welsh. Davy, a long-time producer of Paula’s show stock, also led Tullabeg Hello when she won the Balmoral young horse title as a three-year-old in 2024.

Bred by Nick Cousins, who stands her Plot Blue sire, Hiello at his Tullabeg Stud in Camolin, her dam Tullabeg Penny is by the thoroughbred, Nigrasine.

Judges Julie and Magnus Nicholson, Jennifer McGuire with son Jack Derwin, Willie Lyons and Tiffany Welsh with Paula Howard’s winning combination in the Jim Derwin championship \ Susan Finnerty

To the rescue

Athlone Show came in for widespread praise, on both sides of Sunday’s showring, for providing this championship. Removing the Dublin class is the RDS’s prerogative, however the fact that longtime supporters had already planned earlier foaling dates, selected certain sires and built summer plans around qualifiers and Horse Show Week rankles with exhibitors.

Athlone and the upcoming Clarecastle Show (July 18th), with its own colossal prize fund package for a new Banners Breeders, have buffered that loss.

The Yorkshire judges were impressed by the standard. “I thought today was a fantastic exhibition of some fabulous mares and foals. The standard was incredibly high and it was a hard class to judge, because any of your top six could have been a winner.

“The way it was run was very exciting. It kept you on your wits, because you had to keep an eye on what was going on. I like the concept of watching them trot out to begin with, because it gave you a rough idea of where you can go for starters.

“The triangle then worked very well, comparing the mare and the foal together, because then you were looking at the overall picture and it was good to judge them on a 50-50 basis, as opposed to the mare and foal separately,” Magnus continued.

Athlone also bucked the trend of two and three entries seen in most broodmare classes. That appears to be a problem on both sides of the Irish Sea. “We haven’t seen them in England either. It’s been really nice to judge such quality in a big class and the top three could have been any which way. We did comment actually that there were a few foals that were really quite exceptional,” added Julie.

Fathers Day

Earlier in the same ring, Michael Feeney judged the broodmare and young horse classes. The first tricolour of the day was won by Rebecca Monahan’s foal champion, Not A Word (CC Captain Cruise) out of her 2025 Charleville broodmare champion Notalie (Loughehoe Guy).

“Yes, they’re both Traditional Irish Horses, I would like to stay traditional with this mare, as she has plenty of movement and hopefully will pass that on to her offspring,” said Rebecca, who had a busy week ahead at the Derby Sale, working for Fenloe House consignor John Costello.

Reserve champion foal from light entries was a Steeped In Luck filly, owned by longtime showman Michael Dooner (see Pony Tales, page 89).

The young horse champion was owned by Tiernan Gill, who, like many other western exhibitors, would have traditionally celebrated Fathers Day at Galway County Show. While it’s 10 years since its last show in Ballybrit, the interim decade has also seen the next generation of Gill showmen, as son Alex showed the Poker de Mariposa three-year-old.

Bought in Holland as a foal, plans for the Athlone champion include the road trip to Bannow & Rathangan for its All-Ireland final next month and the Dublin lightweight class.

Reserve was another Galway County regular exhibitor Brendan Newell, with Kilcahill Ruby (Financial Reward), who also left the reins and running to his son Matthew.

Tricolours

In the nearby ‘native breeds’ ring, probationary judge Amy Grady had a good mentor in Philip Scott. The Mayo duo opted for John Joe Bolton’s home-bred stallion Derrymore Banksview Danny (Banks Timber) as their Connemara champion and Paddy Kearns’ yearling filly Ballygarris Princess Lisa (Prince Richard) as reserve, from nicely-filled classes.

Entries were lighter in the following Irish Draught section, judged by the same pair. Here it was a treble for Mayo owner Dom Cassidy, starting with his foal champion, Ring Grove Amy Boy (Tors Gentleman Farmer).

This was followed by two more tricolours for his overall Draught champion and reserve home-bred pair: the yearling Ring Grove Farmers Princess, by the same sire as his foal champion. Her six-year-old dam Clonakilty Dancing Princess (Clonakilty Hero) kept it all in the family as reserve champion.

Last year, equine dental technician Sabrina McClumpha won Athlone’s supreme pony title. She nearly pulled it off again, firstly winning the ridden Connemara championship with the four-year-old Killea Oir (Killea Island), bred by Eugene Killilea and was then Jane Somerville’s reserve supreme champion choice. Kate Daly’s Jenny’s Coral Blue (Murvey Chelton) was the reserve ridden Connemara.

The overall supreme came from the hunter pony championship, won by Lyla Vile with another four-year-old First Ruler (Anarchist), ahead of the Sinead Healion-produced Tyrellspass Prince Charming (Chinook Limelight).

Rosaleen Barry had the lovely task of judging the family pony classes, where Jane Derwin and Jamie Fallon won the champion and reserve tricolours. The percentage of young riders in these classes who progress through pony and horse ranks is unknown. However, these family day out classes are a major part of shows.

A busy weekend paid off for Lyla Vile, pictured on the Athlone supreme pony champion: First Ruler \ Susan Finnerty

Poster child

At the other end of the height scale, the working hunter horse championship was a replay of the 2025 result. Lindsay Casserly and Leila Oakman repeated their double with the same horses; the Shannondale Sarco 11-year-old Moystown St Ghyvaan and another brilliant all-rounder, Its Miller Time (Prince of Thieves).

It was a long day for the working hunter judges - Denise Colebrooke and Imelda Lynch - with bumper entries in these popular classes. The working hunter pony champion was Jacinta Colohan’s skewbald Dartans Jack Flash, ahead of Rita Dunne’s 133cm class winner Fontmell Jack Sparrow (Carrwood Zeus).

Several supreme championship contenders opted to head home after a long day in the heat, including the ridden hunter champion and reserve: Nicola Perrin’s Ballarin Valentina and Grace Maxwell Murphy’s Hollypark Hunt Ball, the respective four/five-year-old and middleweight hunter class winners.

Earlier in the day, Maxwell Murphy’s pure-bred Draught picked up a second reserve sash, this time in the side saddle championship, won by Maria McNamara on Shanbally Nightcap. This Cappa Aristocrat gelding is a poster child for the Draught’s temperament, as Maria put a side saddle on him for the first time that morning. Not only did she win this championship, but also topped the Dublin ladies’ qualifier, along with Grace and Julie Donaghy Simpson.

Irish Draught blood shone through again in the Dublin intermediate side saddle qualifier, won by Sarah Carlisle’s Altona Sly Mist Bouncer (Killinick Bouncer) with Katie Crozier aboard. Emily Collins and Sophie Orr’s journeys from Limerick and Arklow paid off when they too qualified.

Eighteen went to post in a marathon Racehorse to Riding Horse Dublin qualifier, won by the 12-year-old Jeremy gelding Appreciate It and Ericka Cummins. Trained by Willie Mullins, he won 10 races, including three Grade 1s in his racing career. Amongst those wins was a 24-length victory in the 2021 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Emily Woods did her usual excellent job as ride judge, alongside conformation judges Magnus Nicholson, (before his broodmare and foal championship duty) and later Michael Feeney.

Overall, it was one of the best Athlone Shows in recent years. Making it a two-day show - like this weekend’s Charleville - a second working hunter ring or culling less-supported classes are all options for future shows.

Around the ringside

  • Two-time Dublin Breeders’ Championship-winning owner Paula Howard was kept updated by phone about her Tullabeg Hello and her foal’s latest win. “A great result. I’ve seen loads of photos, they looked fabulous, but then David and Gillian [Lyons] can always produce a horse to perfection.”
  • Paula’s Breeders’ Championship-winning mares were Slatequarry Sasha (2016) and Dernahatten Out Of Touch (2024). She reports that the latter produced an Avos Jordan Z colt foal last month. “‘Martha’ has now retired from the show ring,” she announced, “I finished on a high.” And so she did, the last time her hooves touched the grass in the RDS was as the winner of the Breeders’ Championship eventing section.
  • “Cancelling the Breeders was a huge disappointment for so many of us. Qualification was fiercely fought-for, and just to enter Ring 1 on the day was a great source of pride. In fairness, the RDS have greatly upped the prize money in the [Saturday] mare and foal classes, so that’s some consolation. Still, doesn’t make up for losing the Breeders. Fair play to Athlone and Clarecastle for taking up the challenge and giving breeders the chance to enter for two very well-sponsored championships. We all owe them a debt of gratitude.”
  • Another previous Dublin finalist, Fidachta Tulip, won a Wineport Lodge voucher, as the best-turned-out for Sligo owner Laura Foody. Fathers Day dinner on the way home sorted.
  • Not many receive an Aintree Grand National-runner gift horse. “His owners, Michael and Mona Masterson, kindly gifted him to us,” said Ericka Cummins, who qualified for Dublin’s Racehorse to Riding Horse final with the aptly-named Appreciate It. “I’ve gone to Dublin for years from a young age to watch for the week. My mum show jumped in the main arena and Simmonscourt when she was my age. I’m from Waterford, but in the last year we’ve bought land in Carlow and I live there with my partner Sean, who has ridden Appreciate It in the Grand National and to victory in the Grade 2 Kinloch Brae. Since starting his retraining, Appreciate It has been an exceptional horse to work with, willing to learn and very intelligent. A gentleman to have around the yard, he’s a gentle giant and enjoys being turned out with Time Gents, another ex-racehorse and a Shetland pony, Charlie!”
  • Brian Murphy had a busy weekend, between Hickstead last Saturday and Athlone. “Unfortunately, I missed Gorey and the girls went to Forth Mountain that day, where Lyla [Vile] won the Connemara under 16s qualifier with Skellorn Super Ted.” Lyla’s Athlone supreme champion is “owned by Regina Daly from Skibbereen. He was bred by Christopher Curtis in Kildare and was champion intermediate at the Northern Ireland Festival with Lyla, overall supreme horse with me and won the Balmoral small riding horse and reserve champion at Balmoral.”
  • There were ‘happy tears’ ringside at Balmoral last year, when Sarah Carlisle’s much-worshipped Altona Sly Mist Bouncer won there. “I’m the luckiest lady to have such a special little horse, who is forever making dreams come true!” Sarah said after ‘Penny’s’ Dublin intermediate side saddle qualifier win at Athlone. “It’s been a real team effort from start to finish. Ben Rainey has been with us for the past seven months and has had incredible success this season with her. After winning Balmoral’s small horse working hunter, he suggested the idea of trying Penny in intermediate side saddle classes. Katie [Crozier] then had three excellent rides, including a final tune-up on Friday. To qualify for Dublin on Penny’s very first side saddle outing was beyond our expectations. We’re incredibly proud and so grateful to Katie, Ben and everyone who helped make it happen.”
  • A white lie ended up in the purchase of another Athlone regular: Its Miller Time. “I loved him years ago when our friend Megan Devaney rode him. Her granny Cherie owned him,” said Leila Oakman. She and friend Chloe Lacey set off to try him. “I immediately loved him after jumping him over a jump of about 80cm. I called my mam, lied and told her that we had jumped him over a course of fences and I’d found my next working hunter! She came to look, loved the look of him and we bought him about 10 years ago. He has been amazing the whole way through. He got my mam back in the saddle and won countless riding club competitions and local shows. He has won at the Riding Club Festival and been supreme champion there. Same with myself, it’s a rare occasion that he hasn’t come home with a red rosette. He’s really is part of the family, I don’t know what we would do without him!”
  • Connemara champion Derrymore Banksview Danny could feel right at home at the Burke family’s Cloonisle Stud, as both his sire and damsire - Banks Timber and Drumbad Fletcher Moss - also stood there. “We’re showing ‘Danny’ and standing him at stud for the year,” said handler Joe Burke, about the winner of four stallion classes this year. “We’ll stay on the road with him and Manor Marble for the rest of the season, including Clifden.”
  • Last but not least, it was a poignant Fathers Day for another Galway family with the recent loss of Tom Newell. “The quiet man at the ringside,” said Brendan about his father, one of the farmer-breeder backbone of the agricultural show circuit. Tom built up the sixth-generation Kilcahill line, including Sunday’s reserve young horse champion, Kilcahill Ruby.