AS Sunday’s Clonmel Agricultural Show was held at Clonmel racecourse, the most apt place to start this report is the Coolmore Stud-supported thoroughbred broodmare class, the richest of its type in the country.
This was won by Maurice O’Brien’s German-bred Una Sorpresa, an unraced 2025 Banyumanik mare who is the dam of three winners - this trio headed by the Soldier Of Fortune gelding Montgomery who has won three races for the Venetia Williams yard.
It was a day of bumper entries in numerous sections and classes, some of which were funded through the Breeding Grant Initiative by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine under National Breeding Services and delivered by Horse Sport Ireland.
As on Saturday, Co Galway owner/breeder Grace Maxwell Murphy and her husband William McMahon were among the winners, this time landing the ridden horse championship with Gleann Rua Yellowstone.
A four-year-old at his second show, this dun gelding by Liosderg Silver Pride, who was bred in Co Offaly by Brian Fox, progressed to the championship having won his ridden cob class. The reserve was Nicola Perrin’s riding horse class winner, Ballarin Babette, a traditionally-bred four-year-old filly by Portlaoise First Tuch.
Maxwell Murphy herself rode Patrick Curran’s home-bred seven-year-old Glencarrig Knight stallion Glencarrig Douvan to win the Horse of the Year Show ridden Connemara qualifier ahead of Amira Curran on her father Daryl’s similarly-aged Coolin America gelding Caherpuca Chappy.
Riding the five-year-old Dunsandle Diamond gelding Stoneman Team Spirit, who was second in his lightweight class, Perrin also finished reserve in the supreme ridden hunter championship to the heavyweight class winner Amanda Benson’s Foxrock, a five-year-old Reach For The Stars gelding who was champion heavyweight in Dublin last August. With other winners from the ridden hunter, and working hunter, sections, Foxrock picked up a qualifying ticket for the 2026 Royal International Horse Show.
Grace Maxwell Murphy and Glencarrig Douvan secured their ticket to the Horse Of The Year Show in the UK last Sunday in Clonmel Agricultural Show \ Rynes Walker Photography
Supreme pony
The supreme pony championship was won by the Intermediate class winner Deloughtane Rockstar, a 12-year-old Harlequin du Carel gelding out of a Coevers Diamond Boy half-sister to the Tolan R mare Deloughtane Matoaka (CSI4*). Here the reserve sash went to Daisy Toomey’s mini working hunter pony champion Rookerty Haribo, a 12-year-old British-bred gelding by Uphill James Fox.
The supreme youngstock champion was Adrian Williamson’s home-bred sport horse champion KSF Robinhood, a traditionally-bred three-year-old gelding by Jack The Robin out of Ballard Jewel, by Ghareeb. In reserve here was Dermot Molloy’s two-year-old class winner Downstown Son, a Hugh Tunney-bred bay gelding by Cornet Son out of Dowdstown Larina, by Lancelot.
In the evening, Simone Cuddy judged the horses and ponies sent forward by Paul Cooke and Marilyn Ludlow for the HOYS Price in-hand qualifier and found her winner in the in-hand M&M large breed champion, Joe Burke’s well-known Connemara stallion Manor Duke, a 14-year-old grey son of Currachmore Cashel. KSF Robinhood stood reserve.
Bonus
Two combinations won the ‘Trip To Tipp’ bonus of €50 for winning the same class at both Killusty and Clonmel in the open working hunter pony, open show hunter pony and open show pony sections.
They were Margaret Greene’s 148cm show pony Harwent Moonraker, a 14-year-old British-bred gelding by Dophin Superstar who was ridden by Imogen Lawless Greene, and the Keith Moran-owned, Ella Moran-ridden 133cm show hunter pony Scalacre Eclipse, a 15-year-old British-bred gelding by Rothwood Peeping Tom who was reserve champion show hunter pony at Balmoral in May.