THERE were some excellent results for Irish exhibitors, in both the heavy and light horse sections, at last week’s Royal Highland Show on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

The Porsch gelding Tullynagee Applejack, owned by Comber’s Hilary Gibson, fared best among the hunters under saddle on Thursday. A first exhibit at the prestigious show for Gibson and a first ride there for Jamie Smyth, the six-year-old won his middleweight class ahead of the locally-owned and bred Remember Rossmore, Thomas Brash’s eight-year-old son of Rubin Star.

First in the lightweight class was The Masters Choice who is produced in Comber by Richard Iggulden for Templepatrick’s Jayne McConnell and was partnered by Cloughey event rider Victoria Clarke. This five-year-old gelding by Kings Master wasn’t shown much last year although he was second here and fourth in Dublin.

Traditionally-bred and with 75% thoroughbred blood, The Masters Choice, who had a very successful in-hand career for the Martin/Walsh team, was bred in Co Kildare by Noreen Maher out of the Big Sink Hope mare Jockeyhall Aille.

There were no Irish exhibitors in the heavyweight class but this was won by the Irish-bred Redbridge Tiny Tim who was ridden by Richard Telford for Lady Vestey.

Bred in Co Wexford by Mylie Mills out of the Cult Hero mare Mountmellick, the 2008 Mountpelier Seaview gelding has had a distinguished career under saddle in Britain having started here with Kieran Ryan for whom he was champion four-year-old and reserve supreme champion at Dublin in 2012.

When it came to the weight championship, judges Charles Upham (conformation) and Andrew Spalding (ride) settled on the two middleweights with Tullynagee Applejack again being favoured ahead of Remember Rossmore.All weight classes at the Royal Highland are Horse of The Year Show qualifiers as is the small hunter class where last week’s winner was the black Aughabeg Patch gelding Ebony King who was ridden by James Munro for Freda Newton. Bred in north Co Dublin by Willie Shanahan, the now seven-year-old was champion small hunter in Dublin in 2016 for P.J. Casey.

Killinchy’s Kerry Finlay partnered her own Balmoral winner, the 10-year-old Glen Bar gelding Shanbally Ronaldo, to place second, while Sarah Brashaw was third on Sara Boyd’s 17-year-old Obelix gelding Out Of The Phoenix.

The weight champion and reserve and first and second in the small hunter class then progressed to the overall hunter under saddle championship where they came up against the first and second prize-winners from the Cuddy working hunter class, who had no obvious Irish connections, and first and second from Thursday’s earlier novice hunter class, who both did.

Another winner produced by Richard Iggulden and ridden by Victoria Clarke, Vanessa Ramm’s four-year-old Emperor Augustus grey The Superior Choice was bred by the late Des Noctor out of Kemella Clover Diamond (by Coille Mor Hill). He too had a very successful in-hand career for the Martin/Walsh team being youngstock champion at the Royal Highland in 2017 when he was also champion two-year-old at Dublin.

He had another successful season last year and before his change of ownership was reserve traditional youngstock champion at Dublin.

Second in the novice class, where he was ridden for Morean Hamilton by fellow Scot, Kirstine Douglas, was the ex-racehorse, Rich Man Poor Man, a six-year-old Irish-bred Robin Des Champs gelding about whom more can be read in this week’s View From Above column in page 23.

A very good show for Gibson and Smyth got even better at this stage as Tullynagee Applejack claimed the overall hunter under saddle championship with The Superior Choice standing reserve under Kirsty Aird.

The latter will be heading to the RDS via Tattersalls July Show which is also on the pre-Dublin agenda of The Masters Choice and Shanbally Ronaldo who will first line-out at Bannow & Rathangan.

The next assignment for Tullynagee Applejack and The Superior Choice last Thursday was the overall hunter championship. Sadly, the luck of the Irish ran out at this stage with Tullynagee Applejack having to settle for the reserve spot behind the in-hand champion, Joanne and William Moran’s home-bred three-year-old gelding Under Attack (by Tiger Attack), a prolific winner.

While Gibson’s other half, Mark Morrow, was at Killyleagh, where her Porsch gelding was champion hunter, at Balmoral where he was middleweight champion and at Armagh where the bay was champion hunter, he couldn’t travel to the Royal Highland due to work commitments.

Hopefully, he will be at Tattersalls where Tullynagee Applejack will contest his both weight class and the Connolly’s Red Mills Champion of Champions final and at Dublin.

The six-year-old, who Gibson purchased following Balmoral 2018 from the Wallace family, was bred in Co Meath by Michael Farrell out of the Primo Pageant mare Primo Lady Luck.