LISDUFF’s grading officer Olivia Connolly proved unbeatable in the Horse Sport Ireland showing section at last weekend’s Association of Irish Riding Clubs’ Festival with her Irish Sport Horse gelding Mountain Hideaway who she purchased this year having had the grey on loan throughout 2024.

Connolly and her 15-year-old son of Rebel Mountain won the first class to come before judges Claire Oakes, Megan Connell and Amy Kinane in Ring 3 at the Mullingar Equestrian Centre on Saturday morning, Section A of the lightweight hunters. Here the blue rosette went to Drynam’s Megan Fowler on her ISH gelding Please The Court, an 11-year-old bay by Waveney.

The final line-up in Section B was headed by Cheval’s Maria Watson on Rusey Red Behan but this eight-year-old ISH gelding by Financial Reward was overlooked when the judges selected their lightweight champion and reserve, going for the Section A duo and leaving them in their class order.

There was just one class of mediumweights, which was won by Mosstown’s Carol Mulvihill on her six-year-old grey gelding Sin A Bhuel, and one class of heavyweights which was won by AIRC board member, and Tara Hill chairman, Chris Carter and his well-known Irish Draught gelding Cloonan Hector.

Small hunters

When it came to choosing their small hunter champion and reserve, the judges went for their two class winners. Their champion came from Section 2 where Anvil’s secretary and treasurer Anne Grace topped the final line-up with her ISH mare Roanwood Hanoras Dream, an eight-year-old Koro d’Or bay out of a Ricardo Z mare. Their reserve and Section 1 winner was the ISH gelding Kilquinn Pride, a 16-year-old Killinick Bouncer grey ridden by Tinahely’s Faith Jackson.

Before leaving Ring 3, the judges had to assess those few forward in the Equipeople four-year-old class where there was a win for the Clonshire club through Shannon O’Mahony and her ISH gelding DFE Lucky Clover, a brown son of Lucky Luck out of the prolific producer Curryhill Clover (by Philip Clover).

The last task for the judges at this stage was to select their ring champion and reserve and here we got a taste of things to come as Connolly and Mountain Hideaway took the tri-coloured sash with Carter standing reserve on Cloonan Hector.

“This year, he has done a bit of everything as usual,” said Carter of his 13-year-old Clew Bay Bouncer gelding who was bred in Co Mayo by Tom Fitzgerald out of the Crannagh Hero mare Warren Wendy. “You can really rely on him as every day he does his job.”

In winning his class and finishing reserve, Carter was presented with a rosette and sash which his company, Centrepiece Rosettes, supplied for the Festival.

The action then moved to the international grass arena where Oakes, Connell and Kinane had to first judge two classes of mares. Fingal’s Mary Hagan probably held out hope for a repeat of last year’s championship success when winning Section 2 with her 19-year-old bay mare Sweetwell but she had to settle for reserve behind the Section 1 winners, Moyglare’s Emer Lawlor on her 15-year-old chesnut mare Drum Sligo Gypsy.

Supreme

With the judges from Rings 2 and 3 putting the case forward for their champions, it always takes time to decide this show ring finale but the combined judging panel came down in favour of Connolly and Mountain Hideaway, who were to win Sunday’s Equipeople side saddle class, with Tara Hill’s Maura Walsh finishing reserve on DTS First Flight.

“I love the Festival and it was brilliant to win the supreme,” said Connolly who works in the lab at the Fethard Equine Hospital. “I do a little bit of everything in the Riding Club with this fellow, including working hunter, but what I’m really passionate about is side saddle and I quite often go north to compete with the Side Saddle Association up there.

“Last year, we went over to Addington for the British national side saddle show where we won a hunter class. My aim this year is to qualify for Dublin so we are heading to Armagh on Saturday (today) and, if necessary, Athlone on Sunday (tomorrow) for the RDS qualifiers (also the target for Cloonan Hector).”

Connolly, who is a side saddle coach, also brought her older horse to Mullingar at the weekend where she, Barronstown Poppy (a 2007 ISH mare by Van Dantzig), finished third in the 18 to 20-year-old veteran horse class.

“My mother (Antoinette) and I love the Festival and go every year. I thought there was an excellent panel of judges at the weekend and the stewards were so nice and helpful. We helped at the quiz on Friday night and it was brilliant. There were 29 tables and the place was hopping! I was too tired to go to the music bingo on Saturday night but I heard that was great as well.”