Margie McLoone

JUDGES Libby Cook and Helen Hillard have an 8.45am start at the Dublin Horse Show on Wednesday as the showing section gets underway with the Crescent Electrical Services riding horse division.

Regular exhibitor Lesley-Ann Duke returns with Brookfields Showdown in the ‘large’ class where, last August, she and her 2006 Amiro M mare finished second before claiming top honours in the championship.

Cyril Carty’s 17-year-old Alphabatim gelding Why Not Batim and Ronan Lambe’s now near white 11-year-old Indian Ridge gelding will both have an outing here before contesting the racehorse to riding horse class on Saturday.

Lyndsey Wallace, who had some wonderful results in this riding horse division in the past with the ‘small’ Alice Through The Looking Glass, has entered Boswell Bay, a six-year-old by the Hannovarian Lux Z out of the Belgian Warmblood mare Whitney Van De Noordheuvel, a daughter of Heartbreaker.

An interesting entry is the Smith Bros’ Hill Dancer. This Spirit House gelding has qualified for the Pony Club combined training section, where she will be ridden by Steven Smith’s daughter Hollie, and this will give the 10-year-old a nice ‘familiarisation’ outing.

Unfortunately, we cannot say who will be on board Hill Dancer on Wednesday as riders are still not nominated in advance for the regular showing classes at Dublin.

Patrice Dorney has enjoyed championship success at Dublin in the past and, in the ‘small’ class, she and Daniel Rawluk have entered Park Avenue, a four-year-old bay mare by the popular Mermus R out of an Ekstein dam from the family of four-star eventer Bay My Hero.

Not too surprisingly, there are a few thoroughbreds among the 13 entries including Suzanne O’Brien’s Sweetest Symphony, an unraced nine-year-old Bach mare out of a Montelimar dam.