By Margie McLoone

A GOOD week for Kieran and Mairead Ryan’s Cabragh Lodge yard started in Ring 1 on Wednesday afternoon when Heartbeat, owned by their sons Ivan and James, won the Thornton Recycling small hunter championship.

Ridden by P.J. Casey, the 2010 Le One gelding always topped the line-up in the four and five-year-old class ahead of the Vincent Holian-partnered five-year-old Cranangh Hero mare Madame Stella. The latter was also produced in North Co Dublin by her Malahide owner Rufina Shiel Mullen, who bred the chesnut Irish Draught out of her Drumhowan Gold mare Maybe Jaybe.

Judges John Poole and Jane Hunter made a slight change to their original line-up in the six-year-old and upwards class but always had Avril Riordan’s Castlemyles Killkea Castle at the head of affairs.

This eight-year-old by the thoroughbred Powhatan was bred in Kildysart by James Casey out of his Elm Hill mare Banner Pride. He was ridden in his class by Christine Ledingham while his Youghal owner was in the saddle when the bay gelding finished second in his 158cms show hunter pony class on Sunday.

“We’ll jump him over the winter as we think eventing will be his job,” said Ledingham.

Moving up from third to second in the small hunter class was the Jamie Smyth-ridden Colorado who was to reverse placings on Sunday.

INTENT

From outside the ring, it appeared that the judges were intent on awarding the championship to Heartbeat and so it proved, with Castlemyles Killkea Castle taking the reserve sash.

A dark bay, Heartbeat was bred near Swinford by John Giblin out of the Hail Station mare Misty Station. Casey, who also has his year younger full-brother, purchased the champion as a three-year-old in Tullamore before selling on to the Ryans.

Heartbeat has already moved on to a new home as he was sold after Dublin to Northern Ireland buyer Fred Patterson of Patterson Horseboxes for his daughters to ride.