BALLYPATRICK Stables made it three wins in-a-row in the Mo Chroi four-year-old National championship at the Dublin Horse Show last Saturday evening, when the on-form Niamh McEvoy guided Richard Kirby and Gbbs Int Ltd’s KWPN stallion Rich and Royal to victory.
Simmonscourt arena was packed out for the popular class which saw the best six combinations over the opening two qualifiers make it through to the final, which was judged by Canadian Kyle Timm and ride judges Richard Vogel and Willem Greve. Horses were judged on jumping technique/natural ability (100 marks) before the international riders each rode three horses and they were scored for future potential (50) and rideability (50).
It wasn’t all plain sailing as the newly-crowned European champion Vogel ended up on the ground when one of his allocated horses spooked and spun around. However, he showed his hardiness and experience when getting back on and jumping around without incident.
The winner came into the final having finished second on Wednesday and sixth in Friday’s second qualifier. However, after the first round of jumping, it was clear the Mumbai bay stallion was the judge’s pick when he scored 78 points, 4.5 ahead of his nearest challenger, The Seafarer ridden by Shane Goggins (73.5).
The stallion was then ridden by Dutchman Willem Greve in the final round and was awarded 43 for future potential and the full 50 marks for rideability. That saw him rewarded with The Seamus Hughes Perpetual Challenge Trophy, presented by Seamus Hughes Kennedy, on a total score of 171 marks, some nine marks clear of second place.
Balanced
It was McEvoy’s second win in the class and she was second in 2024. Speaking to The Irish Field, McEvoy said: “He came from Holland from his breeder Roelof Bril. He won a stallion approval out there and Greg loved his pedigree and bought him. He’s a gorgeous looking horse, he’s so balanced and has a great temperament. He came before the stallion show here, maybe in March, I rode him at our stallion show and just loved him.
“He is so easy for a four-year-old; he has really natural balance and everything came really easy to him. It’s lovely to have a horse like him in the breeding programme at Ballypatrick. Willem (Greve) loved him. He said he really stood out and that, for a four-year-old, he rode like a Grand Prix horse which is lovely to hear.”
Rising to second place from fourth after the first jumping round on Saturday was Joan Rothwell’s home-bred Boleybawn Santos (Super Gold Van De Fruitkorf x Plot Blue) under Havard Dragset. The pair scored 72 in the first round before being ridden by Greve and given two marks of 45 for future potential and rideability. That left them on a final score of 162.
There was another big gap of nine marks to third place, another from Greg Broderick’s Ballypatrick Stables – BP Royal Highness (Aganix Du Seigneur Z x Casper), bred by Austin Broderick and ridden by Britain’s Harry Wood. This pair won Wednesday’s qualifier but were down the line on Friday. An opening score of 73 left them third overall and that is where they remained with marks of 40/40 for future potential and rideability when ridden by Richard Vogel (153).
Shane Goggins ended in fourth place with Noel Slattery’s The Seafarer (Garryduff Jar of Hearts x Taloubet Z), bred by James Joyce, on 140.5 after scores of 37 (future potential) and 30 (rideability). In fifth on a final score of 131.5 was Taylor Cummins aboard Eddie Moloney’s Thea-Duela who was marked 25/30. Taking up sixth place was David Moran and Molly Hughes Bravo’s HHS Estorial (Echonix x Lougherne Cappuchino), on a final score of 129.5.