RIDERS may partner a maximum of two horses per class in the Pegus Horse Feed performance Irish Draught championship at Balmoral Show and Diarmuid Ryan filled his quota for the four and five-year-old final in the first qualifier at The Meadows last Saturday.

Ryan, who had eight rides in the class, claimed the honours with Dermot Molloy’s five-year-old gelding Cummermore Lad (99 marks) and bagged the fourth Balmoral ticket on board PJ Sheerin’s year-younger chesnut mare My Highfield Starlet (92). Both are by High Ho Dubh, the winner being out of the Crannagh Hero mare Cummermore Lady.

Cummermore Lad, who Molloy purchased as a foal from his Co Tipperary breeder, Larry Carey, also qualified for the final at the Royal Ulster Agricultural Show last year. He didn’t make the breed line-up in Dublin but, before and after that, he won the green working hunter class at the Tattersalls Ireland July Show and was reserve ridden champion and champion working hunter at Iverk. He rounded out his first year under saddle by being crowned supreme ridden champion at the Irish Draught Horse Breeders’ Association’s national show in Punchestown.

On Saturday, Cummermore Lad finished three points clear of the Roy Shiels-owned, Emma Jackson-ridden Rockrimmon Free Spirit, a four-year-old chesnut gelding by Inisfree The Holy Grail. Jackson Laing slotted into third with Dawn Stephens’s five-year-old Gortfree Lakeside Lad gelding Mongory Deano (94). Two of the 23 starters failed to complete.

The performance Irish Draught classes were judged on Saturday by Georgia Stubington who, too, had put in a long stint at The Meadows during the flexi eventing series. She was most impressed with her winner of the six-year-old and upwards qualifier, Kontiki, awarding the Penny Murphy-owned, Charlotte Harding-ridden Killinick Bouncer grey 113 marks.

Emma Jackson again had to settle for second, this time with Janice Reddy’s 10-year-old stallion Ardnacashel Monarch (103), a grey son of Beechmore Silver Crest who was reserve champion at Balmoral last May and claimed the title 12 months previously.

Here, Diarmuid Ryan placed third on Robert McHugh’s six-year-old Moylough Legacy mare Hip Easter Rose (96), with Jill Brown booking her ticket for the final when placing fourth on her own 10-year-old Gortfree Hero gelding A Heros Welcome (92).

The 12-year-old Kontiki, who competes in Dressage Ireland-affiliated classes with his owner and has 426 DI points to his credit, was bred in Co Cork by Seamus Neville out of the Holycross mare Glen Cross. He finished second in his class at Balmoral last May to Ardnacashel Monarch and fourth in Dublin where, later in the week, he won the working hunter pony championship. Just one of the 22 starters failed to finish.