BRIAN Murphy’s route to being crowned leading show rider at the 2026 Gallagher Dublin Horse Show started in Ring 1 on Wednesday morning when he landed the Tiernan Gill, Gill Group riding horse championship on the ‘small’ class winner, First Ruler.

In common with the show’s youngstock champion Timpany Tiger Two, the Irish Sport Horse gelding First Ruler (Anarchist - Keelnacally Carnival Puiss, by Puissance) is produced by Murphy for Co Cork owner Regina Daly.

The Christopher Curtis-bred four-year-old first came to the attention of the wider showing world at the Northern Ireland Festival in early May when, partnered by Lyla Vile, he was novice Intermediate champion and first reserve in the novice championship. With Murphy in the saddle, the brown gelding won the riding horse championship and the supreme ridden horse championship.

It was then on to Balmoral where First Ruler won his class but had to settle for the reserve slot in the championship behind the ‘large’ class winner, the nine-year-old ISH gelding King Of Clubs II (by Riverland Roi). He has enjoyed plenty of success since then.

Although there were some far more experienced horses in the ‘small’ class, four-year-olds were also placed second and third by judges Zara Owen and Josephine Jefferson. Nicola Perrin left with the blue rosette on her ISH mare Ballarin Bellissimo, a bay daughter of Chelis Hc Z, while Lesley Jones stood third with Caroline Leckie’s bay gelding Felix, who has no recorded pedigree.

In the ‘large’ class at Dublin, Murphy and Debbie Harrod’s King Of Clubs II had to settle for second behind Gillian Torrens’s Balmoral runner-up Redmays Romeo (OBOS Quality 004 - Ballynort Cruising, by Drombane Cruising), who went on to stand reserve champion. Bred in Co Limerick by Maria Ranahan, the six-year-old bay was ridden by Rachel Moore-Rooney, who had an excellent show with the horses she produces out of her family’s Ballynahinch yard.

Co Derry’s Aoife Hagan finished third on her father John’s ISH gelding Latseycopple Hights (by Imperial Hights) who, when owned by the aforementioned Regina Daly, was second in his lightweight three-year-old class here last August.