Broodmare title for Assagart Fairytale

THIS year’s Balmoral Show was dominated by southern exhibitors with the first to strike being Co Wexford’s John Roche who landed the Tourism Northern Ireland broodmare championship on the Wednesday morning with his lightweight class winner, Assagart Fairytale.

This home-bred traditional bay, who is by the deceased thoroughbred Coroner out of a Flagmount King mare and was shown with her colt foal by Lansdown, was bringing up a double as she won the four-year-old lightweight hunter class here in May 2019 when ridden by Jennifer Kennedy.

“Fair play to Balmoral for putting on this show and to the ISA who ran the All-Ireland championships as we got messed around by Dublin,” said Roche. “I had the mares and foals out in the day and in at night until the end of June waiting to see what Dublin would do then, apart from being brought in for the odd show, they were out all the time until three weeks ago.

“It’s an awful pity that Coroner is dead as there is some right stock competing by him now. I used him as he’s from the Busted line that I’ve had a lot of success with and then there’s Green Desert in there as well.”

The eight-year-old Bienamado mare Dernahatten Out Of Touch, shown for Paula Howard by Davy Lyons and winner of the medium/heavyweight class, stood reserve to Assagart Fairytale.