Susan Finnerty

CHARLEVILLE, one of the country’s last remaining two-day shows, delivered a showing feast.

Chantilly Anchorman sailed through the opening day to land the supreme pony title. Saturday’s pony judges had an excellent line-up assembled for the Joe Carroll supreme championship title. Emer Cunneen’s show hunter champion, piloted by her daughter Alix, was called forward as the supreme, with Bronheulog Sunny Boy, Liam Ruttle’s starter stakes champion and Dublin hopeful, as reserve.

“A lovely pony, he’s exactly as he should be as a four-year-old and both riders really listened. I told them [after their earlier classes] to ride their ponies more off the top rein to allow them flow on and they did exactly that,” said judge Daniel Park, a former head lad for the late Bob Templeton.

Friendly advice was a hallmark of visiting British judges, including Welshman Anthony Williams, who gave an impromptu masterclass to the exhibitors in his young handler class, won by Abbi Shannon. Another Charleville trademark is the working hunter course, including a bank, designed by Peter Molloy, one of the Irish judges at the Horse of the Year Show. Carlyn Hyde’s Del Boy, ridden by her son Dan, displayed both their Tipperary hunting experience and a blistering gallop to seal the working hunter championship, ahead of another 133cms class prizewinner, Judy Quirke’s Tybroughney Cloud.

The show pony classes were combined as one, with Melanie Marnane’s Sharlen Gone With The Wind notching up another championship win here, ahead of Deirdre Burchill’s Anton Dancing Romance. Jenny O’Driscoll won the mini title with her lead rein winner, Glenard Bumble Bee, who is by last year’s mini reserve, the since-gelded Amesbury Bumble Bee. Standing reserve was Anna Cashman-Wyse’s equally mannerly 123cms show hunter winner, All That Jazz.

Linda O’Donovan’s Caheross Duchess, a three-year-old filly by Glencarrig Knight, enjoyed a repeat win in the Crowley Engineering All Ireland Connemara youngstock final. The Clifden sales buy, Active Beauty, won the in-hand Connemara title for Martin O’Sullivan, who unfortunately lost his lovely Welsh mare Paddock Porcelain last spring, while Jane Kingston won the ridden Connemara title on Lahaknock Shadow.

It was third time lucky for Dermot Horgan, who had called three times about a pony advertised in Scotland before the phone was answered. That resultant buy, Renelles Royal Enchantment, was the first part of a Charleville double for the Macroom family when the three-year-old filly won the youngstock championship. Their Rotherwood Top Of The Pops was also Valerie Hodgett’s breeding stock champion.

WORTHY WINNER

“What I liked about her is that her foal is even better and for me, a mare who improves her foals is a worthy broodmare,” said the judge about the Rotherwood Peter Pan 11-year-old and her colt at foot by Astral Heartbreaker.

Hodgett’s astute observations also played a major part the following day when she opted for Jane Scully’s homebred Limbo Scarlet as her young horse champion, with the three-year-old Ghareeb filly, in foal to Scully’s thoroughbred stallion, Dunelight, praised by the judge for her good limbs. Offset limbs and lack of bone amongst some entries were a disappointing feature for Hodgett.

Murphy, a Womanizer two-year-old, was reserve for his Clonakilty owner P.J Lehane whose dream day continued when his homebred P.J’s Dream won the Horse Sport Ireland broodmare championship, judged by Kristie Lucas from Wales and then the overall broodmare title. Now a four-year-old, the Dublin-winning Lux Z mare also won All Ireland filly titles at Scariff and Kildysart and was shown with her Munther colt, who was also Sunday’s foal champion. Standing reserve in the HSI championship was Kieran Fahey’s Madame Noir, who recently qualified at Cork Summer Show for the Dublin Breeders Championship with her Barely A Moment colt, who was the Charleville reserve foal champion.

The ridden horse section got off to an eventful start when ride judge Tim Lucas was stood down after two tumbles in the earlier young horse classes. Fortunately an excellent stand-in was found in Shane McKenna, although it meant leaving his small hunter entry Apache Pinto, who was the reserve intermediate champion to Jodie Moran’s Crannagh Warrior the previous day, had an unscheduled day off.

The new cast of McKenna with conformation judges, Anthony Williams and the game Lucas, had quality entries, including several Dublin entries, to whittle down their eventual champion.

This was Louise Lyon’s small hunter winner Dartans Smash Hit, also a recent Cork Summer Show winner. The Musical Pursuit-sired Goresbridge buy was ridden by a delighted Alison Holden, while a blooming Lyons, who has swapped eventing for showing while pregnant, was on board Liz Mitchell’s middleweight winner and reserve champion MJI Bluemoon. By Gee Apollo, MJI Bluemoon has already evented up to novice level and also recorded a Cork Summer Show working hunter win as a five-year-old.

Another Dublin-bound winner at Charleville and possible successor to the hugely successful The Forger, was Chantilly Sandman, owned in partnership by Paul O’Shaughnessy, who also found the supreme pony champion Chantilly Anchorman as an unbroken three-year-old, and Lynn Turley.

Charleville’s final winner was Lyndsey O’Brien who won that most elegant of all sights, the side-saddle class, with her consistent Mr Shakespeare.