Margie McLoone

AN excellent day’s work in the ridden hunter section of the Tattersalls July Show on Tuesday was capped for Jane Bradbury when she was presented with the Jimmy Ryan Memorial Trophy on the champion, Bloomfield Spotlight.

Owner Daphne Tierney purchased the 2011 Power Blade gelding privately as a two-year-old from his Clonroche, Co Wexford, breeders Hazel and Herbie Deacon and, that August, he went on to land the Red Mills All-Ireland at Tinahely. Twelve months later, the bay won his lightweight class at Dublin where he was crowned champion three-year-old.

Bloomfield Spotlight did nothing publicly under saddle last year and this season was second at Mullingar before his appearance in the lightweight class at Tattersalls.

Judges Rory Gilsenan (ride) and Moggy Hennessy (conformation) originally had Lyndsey Wylie topping their line-up with her six-year-old Harlequin Du Carel gelding Front Line, but that Co Down combination was dropped to third with Bloomfield Spotlight and Dancing Domain both moving up a place.

Ridden and produced by Cossie McGivern for her Co Meath owner/breeder Hugh Newell, Dancing Domain is a five-year-old by Crosstown Dancer out of the Top Of The World mare Dream World, whose first produce, another Crosstown Dancer mare, is Newell’s best hunter.

Weather conditions were at their worst during the middleweight class but that didn’t matter to Angus McDonnell, who always stood top of the line with his Ricardo Z gelding Statesman, a winner at Gorey and Ballivor this year.

The seven-year-old, previously named Richards Grove, was bred in Co Carlow by Noel Walsh, out of the Cavalier Royale mare Cavalier Countess. He is a half-brother to, among others, the Dublin Puissance winner Seapatrick Cruise Cavalier (by Cruise On), who also competed at international two-star level in eventing.

P.J. Casey was moved up a place to finish second with Laura Hazlett’s Glenomra Duke. Another son of Kedrah House Stud’s Zangersheide stallion, this five-year-old was bred in Co Clare by John Vaughan, out of the Coevers Diamond Boy mare Glenomra Colleen.

Casey also took blue in the heavyweight class on John and Julia Crosbie’s seven-year-old Kings Master gelding Mr Kingsley, a Seadna O’Neill-bred son of the Edmund Burke mare The Grange Woman.

Given the venue, it would have been good to see the thoroughbred Obsidian Sky stay top of the line but he dropped out of the first three, with Aubrey Chapman being moved up from fourth to win with Portadown exhibitor Terry Johnston’s Samsons Court.

The seven-year-old Capitalist gelding, who was bred in Co Laois by Austin Quigley, out of Kellistown Marmite (dam of two-star eventer Fernhill More Like It/Tawneymore), was second in Balmoral this year, as he was at the RDS last August.

Tierney and Bradbury dominated the four-year-old division, winning both classes. Their lightweight victor was Bloomfield Arklight, who won at Barnadown and was second at both Cavan and Balmoral. A full-brother to Bloomfield Spotlight, he was purchased privately as a yearling from the Deacons.

Hannah Woods’s grey Womanizer mare Follow Her Home, who finished second, was bred in Co Galway by John Murphy, out of the Coevers Diamond Boy mare Diamond Leaf Lady. She is a half-sister to the 2011 Future Trend mare SRS Trending who won under Eventing Ireland rules and is now show jumping.

The middle-heavyweight class brought together the Balmoral four-year-old champion, Bloomfield Valhalla, and Wendy Phipps’s Stockbroker, who began the season by winning championships at Thomastown and Barnadown under Rosemary Connors. Both are by Lux Z and graduates of the September Goresbridge sale.

Gilsenan and Hennessy placed Bloomfield Valhalla first in their original line-up ahead of Stockbroker and stuck with that decision.

The winner, who won had been on the mark at Gorey three days earlier, was bred in Co Tyrone by Ted McKenna, out of the Flagmount Clover Diamond mare Dunroe Diamond Clover. Bred in Co Cork by Thomas Doyle, Stockbroker is out of the Cruising mare Nathans Girl.

The judges got a short break before all horses going forward to the championship gathered together and moved up to the main show jumping arena in front of Tattersalls House. Bradbury, at first, thought she would just bring back the two four-year-olds but, nabbing Lesley Webb, decided to return with all three winners. The question was, had she picked the correct one to partner herself?

Bloomfield Arklight put himself out of contention when giving Jilly Crawford a less than pleasant time in gallop, but Tierney had the pleasure of seeing Webb being called forward to win the four-year-old championship on Bloomfield Valhalla.

The owner didn’t have long to wait before Bloomfield Spotlight was announced as winner of the hunter championship and a good day for Co Wicklow was rounded off when Statesman took the reserve sash under Angus McDonnell.

“It was great to win here again,” said Bradbury. “They always put on a good show, and while it must have been a bit worrying for them running mid-week, there was an excellent turn-out and all the classes were well-supported and competitive.

“While I have a couple of horses to bring to Adamstown at the weekend, that’s it now until Dublin where I will have six ridden horses, a broodmare and a three-year-old filly by Ars Vivendi who was youngstock champion at Gorey last weekend.”

As with the three weight classes, the small show hunter class was a qualifier for the Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead. It was well supported and won by a delighted Mary Ann Casey riding her mother Jill’s Rubys Pleasure, a six-year-old chesnut mare with no recorded breeding.

Twenty-three amateurs lined out for their class, judged by Michaela Bowling (ride) and John Dunlop (conformation).

Their winner was Helena Hennessy Ruane’s seven-year-old Arthur’s Gold gelding Cloneyhea Clancy, who was bred in Co Tipperary by Russell and Judith Cowley, out of an unraced Black Minstrel mare.