THERE is little room for amateurism in young horse performance classes these days and they don’t come more professionally-produced than Lougherne Casanova, winner of the six and seven-year-old division of the Balmoral Star of the Future performance horse championships which were held in the Main Arena last Friday morning.

Sponsored by Gibson Equine Haylage and judged by Lt Col Tom Freyne of the Army Equitation School, the championships were contested by horses who had come through five qualifiers – four in Northern Ireland and one in Co Wexford – all of which were judged by Gillian Kyle.

All 15 entries stood their ground in the older horse class where the Hannah Blakely-ridden Irish Sport Horse gelding Lougherne Casanova recorded one of just four clear rounds to complete on his assessment score of 91.5 marks (out of 100).

Jonny Steele finished second on Fran Rowlatt-McCormick’s home-bred ISH gelding Mon Ami Beauvallet (87), a six-year-old by Centre Stage, ahead of Amanda Goldsbury on Cooley Farms’ Cooley L.A. (86), a similarly-aged ISH gelding by Plot Blue.

Locally-bred at the Lougherne Stud in Hillsborough by his owner Jane Allen-Collins, the six-year-old Lougherne Casanova is by Lougherne Caravaggio out of the June Lewis-bred Lougherne Gypsy (by Limmerick). He has competed successfully in other young horse performance competitions and has 35 Show Jumping Ireland points to his credit.

Belline winners

Belline Equestrian’s Richard Ames had been out in some poor weather when his horses dominated the Stepping Stones to Success League at Wexford Equestrian so he would have been pleased to see the sun shining down on Balmoral last Friday morning when his two entries finished first and fourth in the five-year-old class.

Ames’ winner was the ISH gelding Kief Rhapsody (89) who won both the league and final at Wexford Equestrian. He was ridden there and here by Noel Dunne who recorded the only clear round in the 14-runner class on the son of Sligo Candy Boy who was bred in Co Cork by Kieran Fahey out of Lissangle Lux The Business. That 2007 Lux Z mare was a multiple winner in the show ring and also evented successfully at EI100 level.

Lisa Mitchell Talbot placed second on board her own and Alison Mitchell’s GHS Fremont (88.5), an ISH gelding by S Creevagh Ferro with Ellen Douglas slotting into third on her father Hugh’s traditionally-bred ISH Rock Impulse (85.2), a bay by Pointilliste.

These championships were awarded €7,500 in extra funding from the Horse Sport Ireland Breeding Grant initiative. This additional prize-money will be split between the breeders, owners and riders across both classes.