THERE was a great local success in Wednesday’s small event horse qualifier at Rincoola for Ashling McGreal and Kilcoursey Gem, although this win would be difficult to predict with the combination missing from the list of starters.

There was only one clear round in this 24-runner class but as the Suzanne Garrett-owned and ridden Ballinguilkey Oyster was 18.07 seconds over the time allowed of 205, he picked up five penalties and so finished out of the placings. There were five eliminations.

The seven-year-old Luidam mare Kilcoursey Gem was named such as a foal, and has the microchip to prove it, but has been known as long as he has owned her by Daryl Nobel and the McGreal family as Lily The Pink.

The chesnut, whose four-fault round was recorded in 198.92 and had a rhythm and fluency mark of eight, was bred by Horse Sport Ireland’s director of breeding and programmes Alison Corbally, who was at Rincoola on Wednesday representing HSI, sponsor of the series. Kilcoursey Gem is out of the Burggraaf mare ISHD Bon Ami.

delight

The Ardeo Sport Horses’ team will have been delighted to learn that Leila Barker has qualified for the Dublin Horse Show with her Beach Ball gelding Ardeo Illusion, who had his first Eventing Ireland intermediate start at Clyda last Sunday. Also completing on four faults, the seven-year-old was home in 197.17 with a rhythm and fluency mark of eight. Bred in Co Tyrone by Thomas McGuigan, Ardeo Illusion is out of a Clover Echo mare.

While there seemed to be a great push to have only horses with full, recorded breeding competing at the qualifiers, there was no information readily available for Wednesday’s third qualifier Mr Chocolate who, under Megan Telford Kelly, also picked up four faults in 192.38 with a rhythm and fluency score of eight.

Having qualified a four-year-old earlier in the day, Linda Murphy claimed the fourth qualifying spot here with last year’s winner of the class in Dublin, Rita Morgan’s Shirsheen Fun Size. The six-year-old chesnut gelding, who is by the thoroughbred Grand Plaisir, was bred by the rider’s father Patrick out of the Cream Of Diamonds mare Kelleeny Duchess. Another to lower one fence, Shirsheen Fun Size recorded a time of 182.55 and he too had a rhythm and fluency score of eight.

Local firm Kiernan Milling supplied its very colourful mobile display unit to the organisers for secretarial duties on Wednesday. Its wheelchair friendly ramp was a lot easier to negotiate than that of a horsebox and the unit gave the scorers much more room to do their work. A very smart addition indeed.