NO doubt some very passionate breeders will disagree, but I’m delighted that, apart from Connemaras, there are no pony breeding and youngstock classes at Balmoral Show – in my opinion there are more than enough overlapping sections as is!

North Down Marquees continued their sponsorship of the Connemara division which got under way on Thursday morning in the P & O Ferries Arena where the first of two in-hand classes, for mares aged four-year-old and upwards, was judged by Marie Claire Nimmo and Barbara McGrath.

Their winner of the Henderson & Graham trophy for the second year running was Nicky Concannon’s Cornfield Cressida who came off Inishbofin for the show. Bred on the mainland in Co Galway by Brian O’Rourke, the six-year-old Tempo Active Athlas grey is out of the Moorland Snowy River mare Ardbear Mavis.

There was no need for a sea journey for the second-placed Blakehill Zara, Kathryn Smiley’s four-year-old grey by Glencarrig Camelot who was bred by Cian Geoghegan out of the Dexter Leam Pondi mare Anbally Grey.

There were only three geldings among the 10 entries for the two and three-year-old class where two of them, Catherine McCaul’s Dromod Prince (by Cashelbay Prince) and David Graham’s Kilfane Johnny (by Rathkeery Paddy), both three-year-olds, finished second and third.

The Cashelbay Stud trophy was presented to Co Cavan’s Catherine Conlan Dempsey whose filly Murvey Tina, another three-year-old, topped the judges’ final line-up.

The Teach Mor Cormac grey was bred by in Co Galway by Bernard Keaney out of the Currachmore Cashel mare Murvey Rianna.