IT’s good to see younger animals come on the ridden and performance Connemara scene each year but they have their work cut out to beat Bob Marley who won the North Down Marquees working hunter championship for the third time on Thursday evening. The section was judged by Dorothy Guilford (jumping) and Rachel Bennett-Hamilton (manners, conformation and movement and breed type) and their winner of the class for riders not over 16 years of age was the mare Oileán Arann Cailín (by Spiddal Playboy) who was partnered by Anna Byrne for her mother Joannie Glennon.

Bred by Seán Ó Dioráin of Inverin, Co Galway out of his homebred Windy’s Boy mare Oilean Aran Mist, the grey took class honours ahead of the dual Dublin Connemara performance hunter winner, Rachel Kelly’s Annagh Storm, a 14-year-old gelding by Ashfield Festy.

Bob Marley’s turn to initially impress the judges came in the class for riders aged 16 or over where the 16-year-old Ashfield Bobby Sparrow gelding was ridden to victory by Shona Lynch, daughter of owner Adrienne Daly. Standing immediately below the grey in the prize-giving line-up was local exhibitor Eloise Rosenfeld’s homebred mare Happy At Last, a seven-year-old by Emoe Berti out of Drimcong Rover (by Moy Hazy Cove).

With most of Thursday’s large crowd having left for home, the championship finally took place, Bob Marley leaving the showgrounds with another Balmoral champion’s sash to his credit. It proved to be a southern bonanza with Oileán Arann Cailín being placed reserve. “The ponies were of a very high standard,” commented Guilford, “and it was very close between the champion and reserve.” Bob Marley has been winning championships since at least as far back as 2005 during which time he has had seven different riders. He has also competed in dressage, show jumping and eventing

One would have expected Liam Lynskey to take an interest in the performance ridden Irish Draught classes on Thursday morning but his main reason for being at Balmoral Park was to show Joan Hinchliffe’s Ballydoolagh April Song in the in-hand Connemara mares’ class.

It proved a productive exercise all around as the Enniskillen owner’s 13-year-old grey homebred I Love You Melody took the red ahead of another well-known combination of Galway owner Grace Murphy and her German-bred Thiergartenhofs Larissa, a 10-year-old by Skousboe Morning Rock.

This and the two ridden classes were judged by Henrietta Knight who was also on duty the previous day in the show’s horse breeding and youngstock sections.

Her winner of the four and five-year-old class was the Newton Moll’s Pride gelding Doonreaghan Oak who was ridden for Cathy Leggett by her daughter Emma Jane (17). The Wicklow owner purchased the 2012 grey, who is out of Ronan Nee’s Abbeyfort mare Dusty Oak, broken and riding at Clifden sales last November.

Killinchy’s Emily McGowan, who hopes to do agriculture with business at Harpur Adams University in England, won the six-year-old and upwards section on her mother Patricia’s well-known grey Rathbane Legend. Successful last month at the Northern Ireland Festival in Cavan, the seven-year-old Tulira Robuck gelding may return to the eventing scene having won an EI 90 class at Scarvagh last September on his second start. Rathbane Legend went on to claim the championship ahead of his younger rival.