IN a scene reminiscent of the vintage three-year-old classes seen at Dublin in the 1980s, last Thursday’s All Ireland final was one of the best quality line-ups seen at Bannow and Rathangan Show.

Visiting judges Ali Tait and Matthew Ainsworth, who judged ridden hunters at Dublin last year, live in Ledbury Hunt country, where followers include Jonty Evans, A.P. McCoy, Davy Russell and Paul Carberry.

Both regard the hunting field as great education for prospective event horses and in their pre-judging interview, they said they were looking for a quality type that could go down the competition career route. Ainsworth was also impressed by the numbers forward, saying: “We wouldn’t have that many in our in-hand classes,” he added.

The situation is true though of many shows here this summer with falling young horse entries, however Bannow is one that many exhibitors want to win and is always well-supported.

Thirty one had qualified for the final, sponsored by Horse Sport Ireland and Galway Crystal/Belleek China and, interestingly considering the changeover to warmblood sires in recent years, 19 of those from the 2014 foal crop were traditionally-bred.

Even Bannow’s spacious ring was filled by the 25 finalists which prompted two line-ups in the centre of the ring, which allowed ample space for the three-year-olds on their initial trot-up.

The judges continued assessing their contenders in numerical order before, as reported last week, their top-six were announced in reverse order. Topping the line-up was Daphne Tierney’s Bloomfield Waterside, one of two by Watermill Swatch in the prize money, and out of the purebred Irish Draught mare, Bannvalley Stargazer.

The winning sire was one of six Croker Cup champions to feature in the pedigrees of the Bannow finalists and had another offspring, Dessie Gibson’s Balmoral winner Glen Ace, in sixth place.

For the champion’s handler Michael Lyons it was a case of perseverance. “I was on the verge of giving up on Bannow having run right to the wire in a couple of occasions. I thought I would never crack it but it happened yesterday. It’s really the one to win I suppose,” he said afterwards.

ROAD TO DUBLIN

The M.J Kavanagh-bred Bloomfield Waterside, champion at Thomastown and Adamstown on his two previous outings, will line out next in the middleweight class at Dublin.

The RDS is also pencilled in for Tiernan Gill’s Flogas-sponsored pair of Burrough Hill Boy (reserve) and Liqueur (fourth). Gill opted to show her with the Barnaby Flight bay ending up as the highest-placed filly, while righthand man Edmund Hennigan led her stable companion.

“I’ve always liked the Porsch horse [Burrough Hill Boy], he was second at the Royal Highland before and both of them have a nice jump. I’m going to keep them for next year,” said the Ballina exhibitor.

Gill’s filly, owned in partnership with Felim Clarke, was last year’s All Ireland filly champion at Kildysart and although past wins are not an automatic entitlement to future ones, it was interesting to see that Margaret Jeffares Ballykelly Flashdance also featured. The highest-placed home-bred in the line-up, her Gortfree Hero chesnut had won the two-year-old gelding title at Tinahely last August.

Filling fifth place was Pat Martin and Dorothy Walsh’s The Masters Choice, by King’s Master, bringing the number of traditional-breds in the top-six of this final, part of Horse Sport Ireland’s showing championship series, to four.

Earlier in that same ring, Barossa Stud, owned by sisters Paula and Muriel O’Brien, cleaned up by winning both the youngstock and in-hand pony titles.

Their elegant bay Barossa Signal was led by Paula’s son Aidan Sinnott. It was a poignant day for the champion’s connections as they heard afterwards that the three-year-old’s prolific sire Rotherwood Peter Pan had died that day.

There were several enquiries since about their potential 128cms ridden pony since his big win at Bannow and Rathangan. Standing reserve in both Aoife O’Connor-judged championships was John Dineen’s yearling filly Breeneybeg Lucy.

Elsewhere in the eight other showrings run at this superb show, a range of exhibitors from those on pre-Dublin tune-ups to family ponies on their annual day out gathered up red rosettes. Entries were mixed in the broodmare and young horse sections for judges Jane Darragh, Liam Cotter and Denis McGrath.

John Cleary’s Rockrimmon Robisticus six-year-old mare Dolly Diamond Dancer and Matt Cosgrove’s filly by the Trans Island son Neringo were the broodmare and foal champions, while Derry Rothwell’s Lancelot yearling Greenhall Lottie won the young horse tricolour.

Angus McDonnell’s Statesman, by Ricardo Z, was the ridden horse champion and J.J Bowe’s intermediate working hunter winner progressed to taking that section’s championship too.

More Wexford champions on the day that the south-east shuts down to go to the show at Killag included Susan O’Connor’s show hunter pony champion Trefiw Pepsi and Melissa O’Connor who won the working hunter pony title with Lucifer. Taking the award for champion donkey was Shauna Walsh’s Oscar.