Margie McLoone

THE three-day Balmoral show commences next Wednesday at Balmoral Park near Lisburn with classes starting each morning at 9.30am as gates open to the public.

Daphne Tierney, owner of last year’s reserve champion, has five horses entered in the Creightons of Finaghy ridden hunter section which gets the action under way in Horse Arena 1. These include the five-year-olds Bloomfield Incognito and Bloomfield Executive, winners of their lightweight and middleweight classes at Barnadown last month.

Returning class winners from last May include Dragons Den (whose owner Alison Crozier will also be represented by Colorado, the recent supreme champion ridden horse and pony at Cavan), Eirin Corbett’s Carnsdale Corbiere and Fiona Crowe’s Highdell Eclipse.

With his owner having been badly injured in a fall earlier in the day, the heavyweight Redemption Ground was unable to defend his title as champion last year but is one of three entries in the section for local exhibitor Lyndsey Wallace. An interesting four-year-old lightweight is Pearl O’Rourke’s Hold Up Premier gelding, Columbo, the 2014 reserve youngstock champion.

The Ghareeb nine-year-old Ballycapple Blackbird is the stand-out name among the broodmares who will be first to enter the newly-titled P&O Arena on Wednesday morning. She is owned by Dessie Gibson who has one entry in the yearling section, the Golden Master bay Kilcogy. Among the gelding’s rivals is Judith Sossick’s Loughview Ace Of Diamonds, a Cobra half-brother to Loughview Lou-Lou.

Last year’s yearling champion, Tiernan Gill’s Sir Shutterfly gelding Walk In The Park, returns to do battle in the two-year-old division as does the reserve, Ann Lyons’s Financial Reward filly Greenhall Push Button.

There will be huge interest in the Top Spec three-year-old section where last year’s two-year-old winner, Tim Martin’s Emperor Augustus bay, Imperial Choice, faces nine opponents in the lightweight class. These include Tierney’s homebred Kings Master bay Bloomfield Rubicon and James McWeeney’s son of Porsch, Tattygare Fantastic Mr Fox who was second last August in Dublin.

Starring in the medium to heavyweight class is Dorothy Walsh’s Moshaajir bay Diamond Choice, champion at the 2014 Royal Highland show. There are only three in the fillies’ class including Gibson’s Porsch bay Moonlight Serenade who was second last year.

PERFORMANCE

Entries for Wednesday’s ridden Irish Draught class have nearly doubled to 28 and listed among them is Lynne Ireland’s Crosstown Dancer gelding Dowdstown Dancer, reserve performance ID champion at Dublin last August.

The young event horses will be judged in dressage and for conformation and type in the P&O Arena on Wednesday evening before taking over the Main Arena first thing on Thursday morning.

All other ridden horse classes take place that day. Sam McAteer’s Randalstown Designer Stubble returns to defend his title as champion cob while Maura Rooney has again entered her ladies’ astride champion Middleburg, a homebred by Westfield Bobby.

Now owned by Emily Widger, Brynoffa Jonquil bids to retain her Eventsec riding pony crown in the P&O arena on Thursday morning. The mare’s former rider, Ellie McDonnell, will be out to gain show hunter pony championship honours with Goldengrove Sunrise but can expect strong opposition from Jodie Creighton and Bannview Spartacus.

The 2014 reserve champion, Laura McWeeney’s Coolin America mare Roo Bella will be aiming to go one better in the North Down Marquees ridden Connemara championship while Bob Marley returns to defend his title in the working hunter section. Anne Stanley’s 17-year-old Ashfield Bobby grey proved on song recently at Cavan where he was mountain and moorland working hunter champion for the second year running.

Disappointingly, entries are down considerably for the Ulster Bank Clydesdale section which takes place on Friday morning in the P&O Arena. However, among the 20 horses catalogued is the Hanna family’s Macfin Diamond Queen who is bidding for a hat-trick of championship successes.

In contrast, numbers are up in The Equestrian Store working hunter division which will also commence at 9.30am on Friday in Horse Arena 1.

LISTED RIVALS

Champion at the King’s Hall in 2012, Ashleigh Murphy’s Wexford Pimpernel features among the entries for the seven-year-old and upwards class where among his listed rivals is Yvonne Pearson’s Double Take, supreme champion recently at the Northern Irish Festival in Cavan, and the 2014 Dublin title-holder, Sarah Moore’s Shameless.

From mid-afternoon, judging of working hunter ponies will take place in both Horse Arenas. There are many well-known animals catalogued including Anne Torrens’s Ardfry Baileys, Connell Hill Stud’s Derrygimbla Atlantic Storm and Emily McGowan’s Benny Liath.

Competition in the Main Arena commences at 9.30am on Wednesday with the Dengie six and seven-year-old championship, the first of three national show jumping classes on the day, with a fourth, the Botanica International amateur championship, opening the programme on Friday.

There will international two-star jumping on all three days culminating in the Barclay Communications & Bottle Green Grand Prix on Friday afternoon after which the action will conclude, as usual, with the Wilsons Auctions inter-hunt chase. In a major change to the schedule, the Tayto Pony Club games also take place on Friday.