Scott posts textbook victory

Irish Draught class

THE teacher treble at the Lambertstown Derby Show last Sunday came up in the ridden horse ring where Philippa Scott, who has taken up a position this year at The High School in Rathgar, won the Irish Draught class with her own Ashtree Ard Diamond who then went on to claim the ridden championship.

This was a fourth show for the 2017 black Dunsandle Diamond gelding who was ridden Irish Draught champion at the National Horse and Pony Championship Show in Killossery last month and won his ID class at the Meath Hunt Show in Nugentstown.

“We bought this fellow as a two-year-old from the Mulrine brothers but he was bred in Co Donegal by Dominick Coyle out of an Ard Grandpa mare called Ashtree Shiloh,” said Scott. “As Dad (Philip) and I are judging in Balmoral, we couldn’t enter him there so he’s now finished for the season. When he comes back into work, he’ll do some jumping and then, hopefully, next year’s Irish Draught qualifiers for Dublin.”

The reserve on Sunday, as judged by Bridget Millington (conformation) and Jamie Green (ride), was the cob class winner, Joy Murray’s nine-year-old bay gelding Bee Smooth.

The Treo Eile racehorse to riding horse class attracted such a large entry that it was divided. Section A was won by Ruth Cody on Smokey Bay, a 13-year-old Definite Article gelding who ran once in a bumper at Gowan in March 2014, while topping the final line-up in Section B was Nicola Groyer with Vartano, a seven-year-old by Rock Of Gibraltar who owner Michael Grassick ran once in this country after the gelding had started his career in France.

Win for Morris

Ella Morris landed the amateur hunter class on Helen Cooke’s eight-year-old Emperor Augustus gelding Lackaghbeg Augustus Star, another who was entered at Balmoral this week while the home-produced hunter, who was ridden by Tara Murphy for her mother Susan Fanning, was yet another Balmoral-bound exhibit, the six-year-old Irish Draught gelding Shanbally Déjà Vu (by Millhollow Stroller).

The ridden pony rings were kept going all day as was that for clear-round jumping. Also popular was the dog show which attracted numerous jockeys, their children and canines among others. All proceeds from the dog show are going directly to Cystic Fibrosis Ireland.