FORMER local TD and Government minister Michael Ring has called on agricultural shows to “reinvent themselves” and widen their appeal to the general public. The now-retired Ring mentioned this at his local show last Sunday in Westport where the inaugural Ireland West young horse championship series kicked off.

“I know shows are particularly about the cattle and horses but at the same time, shows should look at themselves and try and reinvent shows. Its very important to get people coming into the shows,” said Ring, who first secured substantial funding for agricultural shows, back in 2017, in his previous role as Minister for Rural and Community Development.

One example of a group of shows working together is the new championship series for yearlings, two-year-olds and three-year-old horses.

For starters, the first set of youngstock entries, aiming for a mandatory three appearances at 10 participating shows to qualify for the Baileys Horse Feeds grand final at Ballinrobe (Sunday, September 7th), ticked Westport off their list.

Nine more shows - Enniscrone (July 6th), Ballina (July 13th), Louisburgh (July 20th), Crossmolina (July 26th), Erris (July 27th), Claremorris (August 3rd), Bonniconlon (August 4th) and Swinford (August 24th) - remain in the series, which is open to youngstock owners nationwide.

Judges Andrew Gardiner and Pat Hoare selected Tiernan Gill’s three-year-old Flogas Syb (Calvino Z), Simone Hession’s Beezies Nite Cruise (CC Captain Cruise) and Mary Murphy’s Molly Maloney (Inisfree The Holy Grail) as their youngstock, in-hand and Irish Draught champions in the horse ring.

A cheeky Flogas Syb looks delighted with himself after winning the Westport young horse championship for Tiernan Gill \ Susan Finnerty

Entries were strongest in the Connemara section where Clemerson Braga, from Brazil was teamed up with fellow judge Val Noone and they first chose Kieran McGrath’s two-year-old filly Hazelrock Starlight (Hojbjerg’s Bright Star) as their youngstock champion. Kevin Mullen’s mare Blackthorn Poppy (Contepomi Cashel) was their overall Connemara champion.

Double of doubles

It was a unique double of doubles for the McMullon family who had won the Westport pony championship in 2024 and repeated this success when Blueriver Rock Chick, shown by Eoghan McMullon, won out as the overall pony champion. Jimmy Canavan and Thomas Peoples selected Hollycreek Sir Sydney (Astral Heartbreaker) with Eoghan’s sister Caitlin aboard, as their reserve.

Clemerson Braga, from Brazil, who judged the Connemaras at Westport with Val Noone, obligingly holds Willie Cusack’s Rogaire Realtai, shown by Padraic Hallinan \ Susan Finnerty

More Westport reserve champions included Mary Murphy’s CG The Sweetest Thing (Hardrock Z), Amanda O’Toole’s Geri Mai (The Monk), Dom Cassidy’s Holy River (Inisfree The Holy Grail), Bernard Óg Keaney’s Murvey Kirby (another by Hjojbergs Bright Star) and Robbie Fallon’s Cashelbay Mellow (Cashelbay Prince) in the respective young horse, in-hand and Irish Draught, plus the junior and overall Connemara championships.