Disappointingly for all concerned, particularly organiser Kirsteen Reid, the grey didn’t have many horses to beat on his way to the title with the Co Wexford show being very badly supported.

“We will have a talk about it over the next week or so and possibly move to an earlier date,” said Reid. “I know the entry fees were steep enough but we had to cover the charge for the Royal International Horse Show affiliation. I would like to thank our sponsors as, without them, shows just wouldn’t exist.”

Fresh from qualifying a pony for the RDS Connemara performance hunter championship at Dollanstown the previous afternoon, Lesley Webb was ride judge for the show while partner Richard Iggulden assessed conformation. Both were paying their first visit to Barnadown and were impressed with the facilities, particularly the grass ring where the ridden classes were held.

Their steward, George Boyd, also travelled down from the North for the day but commentary duties were left to the locally-based Patricia Furlong.

Bloomfield Tetrarch, who was bred in Co Tipperary by Jim Seymour out of a Glidawn Diamond mare, won the middleweight class ahead of Fiona Crowe’s home-bred Ard VDL Douglas gelding Highdell Eclipse on whom Jennifer Kennedy won the amateur class for this weight. The grey was reserve hunter champion under Dave Kenna.

The open lightweight winner, Whitfield Jack Of Hearts, proved no slouch over fences later in the day when winning the 90cms performance hunter class and also taking the reserve sash in the sand arena.

Owned and ridden by Cheryl Cusack, Whitfield Jack Of Hearts is a six-year-old bay gelding by Ricardo Z. He was bred outside Bunclody by Tom Carroll out of the unraced thoroughbred Swan Heart (by Broken Hearted).

Maurice Cousins had the rare opportunity of competing in the ring he takes so much care of and secured a RIHS ticket when second on the five-year-old Limmerick gelding Only For Ya who was making his showing debut. “He’ll go to Dublin but I’ll probably hand over the ride to Kirsteen (Reid),” said Cousins.

Others forward for the ridden championship included the Tierney/Bradbury exhibit Bloomfield Integrity, winner of the four-year-old class. This Ghareeb bay was bred in Co Wicklow by Michael Byrne out of the Puissance mare Puissance Lass.

As she received a late call-up by the FEI to officiate at the three-star event in Strzegom, Poland, Gillian Kyle couldn’t judge the working hunters and handed the duties over to her husband Johnny.

Again, he wasn’t overburdened by numbers and even had the luxury of watching on while Webb and Iggluden judged the RIHS qualifier.

It was a good weekend for Mary Doyle’s six-year-old Sir Stormy Breeze mare Stormy Madam who booked her ticket for the RDS performance Irish Draught class at Dollanstown on Saturday and recorded the only clear here under Gabbie Clarkson.

However, disappointingly for connections, when the totTing up was completed the grey had to settle for second in the feature class behind the event mare Theatreworld who knocked one fence on the John Doyle-built track.

The 10-year-old bay, who was crowned working hunter champion, is owned by Mr and Mrs Roberts and Louise Lyons of Dartans Event and Show Horses who was in the saddle as usual.

A daughter of Ghareeb, Theatreworld was bred near Gowran by Michael Brennan out of the Flagmount King mare Queens Logic, a half-sister to the Laughton’s Flight brothers Rolo Tomasi and Kaiser Sosa.