THE stallion Killinick Bouncer will once again appear in the show rings at the Dublin Horse Show in August having won Section B of the six-year-old and upwards performance Irish Draught qualifier at Rincoola last Saturday.

Because of the rule which prevents winning combinations returning for this and the Connemara performance championship at the RDS, the 13-year-old Grange Bouncer gelding couldn’t qualify under his owner Ann Lambert, who landed the overall title on the grey back in 2015, but instead was ridden to victory on Saturday by Susan Corish.

This pair know one another well as they had already qualified for the Association of Irish Riding Clubs Horseware Ireland team show jumping championships at Dublin, when winning the South East Region qualifier at Wexford Equestrian in May, and took home at least six rosettes from the recent Riding Club Festival at Stradbally Hall where they won the Irish Draught working hunter class.

A son of the late Grange Bouncer, Killinick Bouncer was bred by Pennsylvania’s Leslee Asbury out of the Flagmount King mare Eileen Dun.

The grey owes Saturday’s success to his joint-winning flat mark of 59.5 as he and the eventual second-placed Gurraun Zidane mare Ballycahane Silver Vixen (Dominic Furnell) both received 10 points for conformation, recorded the only two clear rounds in the class and received nine points apiece for rhythm and fluency.

Killinick Bouncer won on a total of 238.5 with Ballycahane Silver Vixen amassing 235.5 points for second but just failing to qualify as was the case at Scarteen the previous weekend.

Caughwell owner Tom McNamara and his daughter Maria paid a rewarding visit to Rincoola as they qualified two horses who both won their classes, albeit narrowly. There was a very close result to Section A of the six-year-old and upwards class where the McNamaras’ Shanbally Blazer finished on 239 points, as did the Sophie Mullane-owned and ridden Ballyrimmon Copper who had a five-point better flat score.

However, the latter, a seven-year-old chesnut gelding by Rockrimmon Silver Diamond, had a fence down and lost two points for rhythm and fluency, while his rival jumped clear and was awarded nine points for rhythm and fluency.

PERFORMANCE RECORD

Shanbally Blazer has an excellent performance record which includes being reserve champion at this year’s Balmoral Show. The McNamaras were also third with Shanbally Jackpot (236).

Seven of the 12 horses forward were awarded a 10 for conformation in Section A while nine of the 12 received the full 10 marks in Section B.

The McNamaras’ younger winner was the already-qualified Shanbally Action Man, a five-year-old Offaly Clover gelding who completed on a total of 235.5 points in Section B, just ahead of Sean Barker’s similarly-aged Gortfree Hero stallion Gortfree Lakeside Lad who achieved a score of 235 under Linda Murphy.

The busy Diarmuid Ryan took the second qualifying ticket here with Patricia Molloy’s Fintan Star (232), a four-year-old gelding by Fintan Himself.

Only one horse qualified in Section A of the four and five-year-old class, Kenneth and Melanie Purcell’s Benjamin Button. A 2012 gelding by Carrickrock Close Shave, the grey achieved a joint-winning flatwork mark of 65 under Melanie, who guided him to one of four clear rounds and a rhythm and fluency score of nine. Benjamin Button was bred in Co Galway by Martin Donnellan out of the Clover Hill mare Aughrim Phoebe.

Eight of the 10 horses forward in Section A received the full 10 marks for conformation with six of the nine faring likewise in Section B.