SHANE McKenna, who won the Connolly’s Red Mills champion of champions ridden horse final at Barnadown last Sunday, had the perfect start to his day in the Main Grass Arena at the Wicklow Show.

The Co Kilkenny-based producer/rider landed the morning’s hunter championship on his mother Janet’s four-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Greenhall Top Shelf, a smart-looking chesnut who was having just his second start.

Winner first of the small hunter class ahead of his stable-companion, the Lyn Keane-owned and ridden nine-year-old traditionally-bred ISH mare Assagart Independence (Kings Master - Nordic Dream, by Nordic Brave), the Derry Rothwell-bred champion is by Financial Reward and is the oldest produce on the Irish Horse Register out of Greenhall High Tide (by Greenhall).

Judges Jessica O’Brien and Harry Scanlan selected the four-year-old class winner, the ISH gelding Ballykealy Rocky (Rock ‘N Roll ter Putte - Sandy Cruise, by Womanizer), as their reserve champion. This bay, who was ridden by Aubrey Chapman for owner Nancy Milburn, won his four-year-old middleweight class at Balmoral in May and, having qualified out of Gorey, was sixth later on Sunday in the Red Mills hunter final.

Owner Amanda Benson had two horses through to the working hunter championship in Ring 1, one being the 12-year-old gelding Ballingeary Buster (Luke Skywalker - Dominico, by Holycross) who she rode herself to land the Irish Draught class. Later in the day, she and the grey were fifth in the Red Mills amateur finals.

Benson’s second horse to catch the judge’s eye was the ISH gelding (BC) Masquerade, winner of the 90cm class under Aimee Stunt.

This bay, who went champion, is a four-year-old by the Caretino Glory stallion Dazzler. He was bred in Co Kerry by David Browne out of the Glidawn Diamond mare Atlantic Sophie, a half-sister to, among others, the Atlantic Sparkey gelding QEH Making Waves (CCI3*-L). Reserve champion here was the small horse class winner, the nine-year-old ISH gelding Leestone Conbreaker (Connor 48 - Acajou van het Kloosterhof, by Heartbreaker), who was ridden for Liam Ruttle by Jessica Murphy.

An Angel

A mixture of flat horse classes were staged in Ring 2 where the ridden champion was the riding horse class winner, Assagart Angel, a traditional ISH mare owned and ridden by Jennifer Kennedy. The 10-year-old, who was bred in Co Wexford by Michael Roche, is an own-sister to the above-mentioned Assagart Independence.

Reserve champion was Tallyho McGuire, winner of the Irish Draught under his owner Fionnuala Lennon who also partnered him to finish second in the afternoon’s Red Mills amateur final. The flashy chesnut by Kiltybane Naldo, who has qualified for the ladies’ side saddle final at Dublin, was bred in Co Down by Patrick Rice out of the Gurraun Golden Eye mare Anamar Girl.

It was good to see a dedicated class here for Riding Club members and it was won by Maura Gleeson, a member of Ballycanew, on her once-raced thoroughbred gelding Holddoor, a nine-year-old bay by El Salvador out of a Muhtathir mare.

Thanks to the efforts of a very hard-working committee, there were five other rings in use throughout the day catering for in-hand horses (breeding and young stock), ridden ponies, local ponies, in-hand ponies and working hunter ponies. All Irish Draught classes at Barnadown were run in conjunction with the Wicklow Branch of the IDHBA.

Apart from their association with the show’s own hunter champion as mentioned above, the Greenhall Sport Horses’ team showed the broodmare champion (Greenhall Push Button) and reserve champion (Greenhall Bees Knees) and the foal champion (Greenhall Catarina).