A TOTAL of just 16 horses across the two classes appeared before judge Helen Troughton at the third qualifier for the Horse Finder-sponsored Star of the Future performance horse championship at Balmoral Show (May 13th to 16th), which was hosted by the Stuart family at Gransha Equestrian last Saturday.

Ten of these started in the five-year-old division, where well-known Co Meath young horse producer John Bannon claimed the honours with his Irish Sport Horse gelding Little Luck (Avos Jordan Z - Sillan Roller, by Diamond Roller). Bannon did a small amount of registered jumping last year with the bay, who was bred in Co Cavan by John Tierney and is the oldest of five progeny listed on the Irish Horse Register out of his dam.

On a score of 93, Bannon and Little Luck finished nearly 10 marks clear of the second-placed (83.5) pairing of Ben Rainey with an unnamed mare by the Anglo European Studbook-registered stallion Timolin, a son of Totilas. “She’s my first home-bred, so I’m delighted,” said owner Ella Boyle. “She’s out of Bella Britannia, a Mr Big Cat daughter of Headley Britannia, who I bought from Lucinda Fredericks six years ago.

“The mare is producing really nice stock for me and it’s super exciting to have the first one coming through to be this promising. As with all my young ones, we will take it slowly with her. We find this Balmoral class is a nice starter for them.”

Gwen Scott finished a mark adrift in third with the ISH gelding Honeycomb Quality (OBOS Quality 004 - Derg Royal Imp, by Master Imp). The bay, who was bred in Co Limerick by Aideen and Owen Kirby, competed in young event horse classes and working hunter classes last year, when he also had two runs in EI90 company.

With only six starters, half the field qualified for the Balmoral championship in the six and seven-year-old class, where the scores were topped on 92 marks by Anna Murphy and her family’s 2019 ISH gelding Drumrankin Hilboy (Tolan R - KMS Eimears Pet, by Loch Cruise).

Chris Connell, who had three rides on the day, bagged the second ticket on 83 marks with the seven-year-old ISH gelding Highview Downunder (Sligo Candy Boy - Jubilee Porsha, by Porsch). Molly Evans finished third (74.5) on one of her two rides, the seven-year-old ISH mare Beltrim Moon Beach (Beach Ball - Beltrim Full Moon, by Maximum Clearance).