IRISH Draught geldings won all three open working hunter classes at last week’s Balmoral Show, Diarmuid Ryan being on board both the four-year-old winner, Simon Kelly’s Clogher Highlander, and Dermot Molloy’s Two Mile Nigel, who topped the line-up in a very competitive five and six-year-old class.

Under the watchful eye of his owner, Lady Perdita Blackwood, the seven-year-old Scrapman gelding Clandeboye landed the seven-year-old and upwards class in the hands of Louise Lyons. The grey, who recently won the Horse of the Year Show horse working hunter qualifier at the Northern Ireland Festival, was bred in Co Down by Miriam Burney out of the Western Light mare Libertias Trueblue.

Also going through to the Jenny Banks (conformation) and Kieran Baslington (ride)-judged championship carrying blue rosettes were the four-year-old Orestus gelding Coolpark Orestus, who was ridden by Rory Lavery for George Stewart, Megan Hamill’s owner-ridden six-year-old OBOS Quality 004 gelding Redwood Quality Street, and Rosie Alcorn’s owner-ridden Chrysanthos. The last-named, a 10-year-old Anglo European Studbook-registered gelding by Jaguar Mail, recorded one of only five clears in the older horse class.

Two Mile Nigel had to settle for the reserve spot behind Clandeboye as the 2024 Dublin Horse Show came to a close last August but the positions were switched at Balmoral last week, much to the delight of Dermot Molloy.

“We’d be happy enough if our horses go well and return home happy and healthy,” said the Co Kilkenny exhibitor who partnered the Heigh Ho Dubh gelding Cummermore Lad to finish third in the four-year-old class. “Nigel and Diarmuid get on really well and are on fire at the moment! We’re heading back to Tullylish for the first of the RDS Irish Draught qualifiers (on Saturday, June 7th) and then the plan is Dublin where he will also do the workers but won’t be entered in a flat class this year.”

Molloy paid tribute to his wife Michaela for the turn-out of the yard’s horses (“She plaited Dermot’s other horse as well!”) and the part played in keeping them calm at shows by their horse-mad daughter Amy (7). Their son Mark (12) is more interested in badminton and hurling.