The committee stuck firmly to their no late entries policy which produced a detailed catalogue, appreciated by the ringside pundits and despite the recession, the show’s chairman Paddy Joe Foy reported that their sponsorship remained steady.

The only downside last Sunday was several exhibitors’ lack of courtesy towards stewards who voluntarily give up a day to help at their local show.

There was another silver lining at Westport for the ever-courteous Tiernan Gill and Dermot Gordon who both repeated their championship successes last Sunday. Gill’s Flogas Napoleon brought off a back-to-back double in the young horse championship when the Orestus gelding retained his 2013 title. Bought from breeder Nicola Tang, the three-year-old will next be aimed at Galway County Show which will be held at its new Ballybrit racecourse venue on June 14th-15th.

Jimmy Canavan and Padraig Fitzpatrick opted for Dermot Gordon’s Ricardo Z yearling as their reserve champion from the morning classes. The home-bred is a half-brother to Gordon’s 2013 champion here The Sniper and both winners are out of the Master Imp mare, Killer Instinct, second in the All Ireland filly foal final.

Another to have shown good form in an All Ireland final was Martin Murphy’s broodmare winner, by Loughehoe Guy, who placed in the All Ireland yearling filly final at Scariff for her previous Oranmore owner Pat Finn. Murphy, from Swinford, also qualified his Welcome Emperor filly Fuerty Princess for both the Limerick Lady and All Ireland two-year-old filly final.

The Irish Shows Association have asked all prospective All Ireland contenders to complete the necessary paperwork on the day of qualification for this year’s finals and their national secretary Michael Hughes had a busy day between this paperwork and officially opening the show.

The broodmare and foal classes are starting to fill up and Michael Grady won the foal class with his smart Near Dock filly. Tom Burke’s Barracaberry Orbit foal won the Irish Draught equivalent which was the start of the Burke family’s Westport winning streak.

With two contenders before them for the horse championship, the judges chose Gordon’s yearling as their champion with Murphy’s broodmare winner as reserve.

The native breed classes of Connemara and Irish Draughts are always the best-supported here and the Draught enthusiasts who remained on in the afternoon rain showers were treated to some lovely examples of the breed.

Standing champion was Martina Murphy’s The Scarlett Lady, who was bred by her father Eddie and the three-year-old is a full-sister to Liam Lynskey’s prolific winner Lady In Red Star. Both are by Grosvenor Lad and are half-sisters to the approved stallion Young Carrabawn. Seamus Sloyan, who had completed an Irish Draught championship hat-trick here last year, took the reserve title with his Dublin winner, Elm View.

Patricia Hoey chose Hurst Show Horses’ Lambay Remember When and Jane Gibbons’ Sianlee Picasso as her champion and reserve choices from the pony section.