WHERE better to confirm champions than at the National Breed Show and that’s what happened last Saturday at the Irish Draught Horse Breeders National Show in Punchestown where Dublin and UK champions came to the fore again.

Exhibitors turned up in huge numbers to take part in the 10th renewal of this increasingly popular show. As a breed show, the committee’s task is to promote and showcase the Irish Draught horse.

With help from an array of sponsors including FBD, HSI, Irish Horse Gateway, The Irish Farmers’ Journal they were able to include new classes and offer good prize money which helped attract the 245 competitors that came from the four corners of Ireland.

Ridden Irish Draught classes have been on the up and up but to see a Side Saddle class of 11 purebred Irish Draughts was a sight to behold. Judge Amie Garrigan said of the winner, Alicia’s Devlin Byrne’s King Flagmount:”He was one of the nicest horses I ever sat on and moved effortlessly through his paces, an absolute pleasure to sit on and carried the side saddle beautifully.” The riders in this inaugural class, with a prize fund of €1,000, included Grace Maxwell Murphy, Maria McNamara, Sarah Conway and Linda Murphy, to name but a few.

In the four and five-year-olds, it was to be the start of another great day for Sean Barker’s Gortfree Lakeside Lad. The five-year-old stallion son of Gortfree Hero wowed judges Mary-Ann Casey and James Armour, just as he did at the Irish Draught Society (GB) Breed Show two weeks ago, to win the younger horse class which, with 17 catalogued entries, shows the huge interest there is in producing Irish Draughts right now. The ride judge Mary-Ann Casey remarked on how well mannered and produced the young horses were. She said the winner was “the epitome of an Irish Draught to look at but also felt so light and trainable when ridden.”

Out of a class of 13 older horses, the winner was Grace Murphy’s very handsome six-year-old dapple grey Cappa Ranger by Cappa Cassanova.Gortfree Lakeside Lad was awarded the ridden championship, with King Flagmount and Alicia Devlin Byrne taking reserve. This was to be the same one-two in the afternoon’s centrepiece as 20 out of 34 qualified horses contested the Irish Horse Gateway Performance title.

Judges Michael Cooper (UK) and James Armour awarded points similar to the Dublin format for flatwork, a testing jumping phase, conformation and a ridden phase. Following his Dublin debut in early August, where he won the Irish Draught Performance Championship, Gortfree Lakeside Lad went to Britain two weeks later and won the Ridden Championship at the Irish Draught Society (GB) Breed Show. Saturday’s win gave the Brian Murphy-produced young sire a hat-trick of the most prestigious Ridden Championships this season.

Over in the in-hand rings, one of the biggest filly foal classes that can be remembered saw 19 fillies parade in front of judges James O’Donoghue and Julie Cornthwaite (UK). With 40 foals in total catalogued, this clearly showed the renewed interest there is in the Irish Draught.

Coming out on top was Tom Mooney’s Fintan Himself filly foal, who went on to be foal champion, with Dermot O’Brien’s colt by Castlegar Fingrove in reserve. Mooney’s filly has worn the champion foal sash on a number of occasions already this season and approval of her win on Saturday was unanimous all around the ring.

The youngstock classes had very good entries too also up on previous years and it was Martin Egan’s Archie, a two-year-old colt by Moylough Bouncer out of a Castana dam, bred by Brendan Duffy who took the Youngstock Champion title. The prestigious FBD Mare of the Future title was won by Peter McLoughlin and his home-bred Ellistown Grey Abbey. By Fast Silver, this four-year-old mare is out of Kilbeg Queen who was herself the Supreme Show Champion in 2011.

In the Broodmare classes, 50 entries gave judges Sharyn Alexander and Caroline Saynor (UK) plenty to contemplate with the “stock of exceptionally high quality,” according to Mrs. Alexander. With judging described as fair and consistent throughout the day, out of the younger mare classes came Maeve Holohan’s Clonkelly Lucky, who had won show championships during the season, and the Liam Lynskey-produced Dublin Champion Strictly Come Bouncing. John Roches’ Assagart Kingstead Fiona (2016 Dublin champion) and Seamus Duffy’s beautiful Kilmovee White Carnation along with Marie Byrne’s Star Fin Girl from the small mare class made up the contenders for the champion broodmare title, which went to the Dublin Champion Strictly Come Bouncing by Moylough Bouncer, and Assagart Kingstead Fiona by Huntingfield Rebel in reserve.

As Liam Lynskey said: “With current and past Dublin, UK and nationwide champions here, titles won in the best of company make them all the more meaningful. They’re all great, but this is the one show you want to win!”

In a new judging format for the Supreme title, judges had each to give an undisclosed score for each of the five horses and these were tallied to give the overall result.

The 2017 Supreme Champion was Liam Lynskey’s Strictly Come Bouncing and the Reserve Supreme Champion was Sean Barker’s Gortfree Lakeside Lad.