LONGTIME showring stalwart Michael Dooner won a third supreme title at the All Ireland traditional foal finals, hosted at Mountbellew last Saturday.

Eight foals lined out in each of the colt and filly foal finals, sponsored by The Malt House Bar & Restaurant, Briggs Fashions, the host show and Horse Sport Ireland.

First to stake his claim was the Dooner’s colt, the seventh Loughehoe Guy foal produced by the Athlone family’s Dunkerrin Grey Mist mare, Vanity Fare. Bought as a two-year-old from Hazel Moorehead in Ballymahon, her family tree includes Errigal Flight and Ballinvella and she had already produced two All Ireland champions, (Flogas Bling Bling in 2008 and eight years later, My Real McCoy), plus three reserve champions in the Mountbellew finals.

John Roche’s colt by the Irish Draught stallion Lansdown, out of Katie Jerram’s ex-show mare Travelling Solo, was reserve and Martin Murphy took third with his Near Dock foal. He had also placed third in The Irish Field Breeders’ Championship with his Power Blade dam, Castlemeadow Mildred.

John Fee and Philip Scott selected Des and Margaret Jeffares’s Ballykelly Countess as their All Ireland filly champion. Another with All Ireland winning connections – her full-sister Ballykelly Jasmine won here two years ago – she is by Gortfree Hero out of Ballykelly Hi Hope.

Both this dam and Greenhall Wishing Well, the dam of Derry Rothwell’s reserve champion filly by Island Commander enjoyed successful show careers under saddle.

In third was Darragh Glynn with an Elusive Emir full-sister to last year’s overall champion.

In the head-to-head decider between the top pair, Dooner’s colt won out for the overall title.

High standard

“It was the highest standard I’ve seen here,” Fee remarked. “When I judged here two years ago, we came across a lot of foals with enlarged joints and limb defects. It was the difference between day and night. It was very positive for a traditional class that we’ve seen none of this [today] and the foals were a credit to the breeders.

“As a farrier, I’ve seen an increase in serious limb defects in the past few years and I think there is a lot to be said for breeding from a stallion that stands in Ireland. The big plus of that is you can actually see the stallion. I think a lot of the time people are breeding off stallions they’ve never seen before, from a catalogue or online.

“Conformation is the one element we should never compromise on. With the standard I’ve seen on Saturday, I’ve no doubt these foals will go on to be top riding horses, eventers or show jumpers, because they’ll stand up to the test of time.”

More Mountbellew champions included a double for Irish Draught breeding when Pat Hoare’s Moylough Ruby, by Welcome Flagmount and Tom Burke’s colt by his own Castlegar Cool Mist won the broodmare and foal titles.

Kevin Bolger took time off from organising next Saturday’s Foal of the Year Show at Clifden to judge the Connemara classes where his champion was Patrick Curran’s Tra Bhain Cool Dun, by Shadows Dun.