The first of this year’s Rebel County agricultural shows produced a healthy mix of seasoned campaigners and new faces amongst the entries.

Another relative newcomer was ex-National Hunt jockey Norman Williamson who, with Maurice Coleman, judged the ridden horse classes. “I was asked to judge a racehorse to riding horse class once and that’s how I’ve got roped into judging since,” explained the 11-time Cheltenham Festival winner, whose victories included a famous Gold Cup-Champion Hurdle double with Master Oats and Alderbrook in 1995.

The pair opted for Susan Roche’s Shanaghan Emperor as their champion.

“A big baby and a lovely horse in the making,” commented Coleman about the upstanding Emperor Augustus brown four-year-old. Bred by the recently-married Esther Skelly, the Dublin-bound youngster is out of the Flagmount King mare, Shanaghan Matilda and was bought unbroken from Frank Casey before Christmas.

Standing reserve was Gwen Murphy’s find at the Goresbridge Irish Draught sales, where she bought Cullinagh Mullarkey Pearl from his Donegal breeder Dan Mullarkey. Another four-year-old, he is by Mountain Pearl, who coincidentally was bred in West Cork and returned to stand at Eddie Meehan’s Longwood Stud after several years in Iowa, and out of a Corran Ginger dam.

Over at the start of the production line, John Walsh’s Crosstown Dancer foal continued his sire’s Balmoral winning streak by winning the foal championship. Walsh bought the champion’s thoroughbred dam from his neighbour Charlie Duggan and so the April-foaled colt combines the bloodlines of the late popular Irish Draught sire and the brilliant National Hunt sire Presenting.

Another of Mtoto’s sons, Coroner, produced the reserve champion filly in John Roche’s Assagart Emerald out of a Flagmount King dam, while the Wexford exhibitor went one better in the broodmare championship with his new addition, Assagart All My Hope. The grey won the All Ireland two-year-old title at Kildysart for previous owner Dermot O’Sullivan who sold her to Roche last autumn.

“My father [the late Michael] had judged her as a foal and had tried to buy her several times since,” explained Roche whose next outing with the Big Sink Hope mare is Clonakilty.

“She is a lovely type of quality mare with an excellent step,” said judge James Murphy, who selected Charlie Farrell’s Irish Draught mare Bluehill Countess as his reserve choice. By the Clover Hill stallion Philip Clover, who was bred by the Curran family and originally produced by Geoff, the old-type mare is out of the Blue Peter dam, Creggan Rose.

The Lehane cousins had a clean sweep in the adjoining young horse ring where Seamus won the young horse championship with Ballard Wise Guy. Reserve champion on his previous outing at Tralee the previous Sunday, the Loughehoe Guy two-year-old was bought from his Nenagh breeder Teresa Cairns through the Irish Farmers Journal classifieds. “He’s got it all, a quality, well-produced young horse who was a worthy winner” remarked David McCann.

clean slate

With every championship judging starting with a clean slate, McCann then opted for PJ Lehane’s home-bred PJ’s Dream as his reserve. This Lux Z three-year-old filly is already a winner of two All Ireland filly titles at Scariff and Kildysart.

The sun finally came out for Bandon’s traditional parade of champions at the end of show day and Penyffynon Richochet took his place as the supreme champion pony. Owned by Martha McNamara, the Arab-Welsh C cross had already won the working hunter title with her daughter Amy, a Junior Cert student and then added the overall title to recent supreme championships at Newmarket-on-Fergus and Tralee.

Martin O’Sullivan also threw down the closest challenge after a clean sweep in the in-hand pony division with Paddock Porcelain and her Barrera Duke Of Windsor filly foal, while another of last year’s champions, Tyn-N-Cae- Gold Kite again retained the show hunter pony title. Philippa Mansergh-Wallace’s Derrymore Paddy Finn, by Currachmore Cashel, was the Connemara champion.