THE Grallagh Harriers in East Galway are celebrating their 20th season since being founded by David Burke, who previously campaigned on the show jumping circuit and also whipped-in to both the Percy in Northumberland and the Galway Blazers when Michael Dempsey was master and his son Tom hunted hounds.

Their Puppy Show is always a must for hound enthusiasts, as they are a specially-bred lighter Old English type. Also the hospitality is always exceptional, organised by the senior master’s mother Bernie, with daughters Lorraine and Sinead and friends helping out.

There was a packed audience around the ring and a huge display of refreshments, mostly home-prepared, under the shade of a pristine white marquee for comfort and, as it is their 20th season, there was music later which added to the friendly atmosphere.

Senior master David Burke has a tradition of allowing a young member of his hunt to present the new entry to the judges, and 14-year-old Ruben Freeney has filled this role for the last two years, assisted by Mark Cunniffe and Mikey Higgins, a son of the late and much-missed joint master and well-known show jumper producer, Gary Higgins.

Young Ruben was fully focused in showing hounds and proved way beyond his years in the skill of presenting them to experienced judges, Jane Strickland, former master of the Hurworth in Yorkshire, and Pat Maher, former master of the South Union in Cork.

It is a tribute to the preparatory work done by Ruben, Mikey and Mark that there was not one shy hound in the one and a half couple of doghounds and the two and a half couple of bitches under David’s supervision.

The entry was so evenly matched for height, colour and conformation that the judges deliberated long and hard before putting Padlock by Paddler ’21 out of Kilmoganny Tadpole ’23 forward in the doghounds, walked by the Freeney family, and Pandora, a full-litter sister forward in the bitches, walked by the Casey family.

And the Caseys had reason to celebrate again, as Pandora was also considered by the judges as the overall champion. Before the presentation to the puppy walkers, Ruben used the biscuit to good effect in showing the full pack, who looked exceptional in their coats, to the hunt followers and friends, which included a number of landowners.