NEVER one to sit still for too long, unless forced to do so, Gwen Scott’s showing season more or less concluded last Sunday at the Dublin Horse Show so today you will find her competing two young horses at the Eventing Ireland Northern Region one-day at Hazeldene.

It has been a bit of a mixed campaign for Scott who had to miss the Balmoral Show earlier in the year due to a wrenched back. However, she topped and tailed it with two major working hunter championship wins on Tul Na Rí who, last week, was also reserve champion middleweight hunter.

This is the first horse Scott has produced for Creeslough farrier John McDaid to whom she was introduced by Cloughroe Stud’s Valerie Davis. Out of a dam with no recorded pedigree, the six-year-old gelding by Glynnwood Cornet was also bred in Co Donegal by Caitlin McKinney.

The pair’s initial championship success came at the Northern Ireland Festival in early May when Scott won the Festival supreme horse working hunter title for the first time on the attractive grey, having progressed to the show’s finale by winning the 80cm class.

Last Sunday, Scott and Tul Na Rí appeared before Michaela Bowling (ride) and Terry Chalmers (conformation) for the championship judging with a blue rosette having finished second in the preceding older middle/heavyweight class to the experienced Quite Content.

Martine Nolan’s 13-year-old chesnut Irish Sport Horse gelding by Conthargos, who was ridden by Shane McKenna and was bred in Co Derry by Liam McKee out of the St Finian mare Fire Fly Summer, didn’t go forward as well as Tul Na Rí in the championship. While McKenna’s mount was a clear-cut winner of their class on points (91 to 82), it wasn’t surprising that the placings were reversed when it came to the final result in Ring 2 for 2025.

“This fellow was quite green at NIF but had plenty of outings, and wins, at shows such as Armagh, Enniskillen and Castlewellan,” commented Scott.

“He has now been sold but I’m hoping John will get another to replace him having been well-rewarded for his first venture into workers.”

Easy breezy

For many of the large crowd ringside, their main interest lay in the opening class for five-year-old and upwards Traditional Irish Horses.

This was won by a two-point margin by the Alice Copithorne-ridden Kilkeany Breeze (89 points), a 2020 Munther mare owned by Margaret Walsh and Skylane Scaffolding and bred by Walsh out of Kilkeany Cooline, by Coolcorron Cool Diamond.

Aisling Dwan finished second on the year-older Heigh Ho Dubh gelding The Duke Of Hazard (87) who is out of an unraced thoroughbred mare by Close Conflict. Displaying the durability of the TIH, Dayna Curtis was third with her own 20-year-old Crosstown Dancer mare Cillnabradden Cuig (85) on whom she was second in a section of the older lightweight class all the way back in 2014. The chesnut was bred by one of the show’s international show jumping course builders Tom Holden and his wife Orla.

Four-year-olds

Going through to the decider as winner and second in the four-year-old class were the Irish Draught gelding Coloumbia (90 points), a grey by Columcille Diamond Boy who was ridden for J.J. Bowe by Ciara O’Connor, and the ISH mare Unionhall Diamond (89), a Tyson chesnut partnered by joint-owner Sarah Maxwell.

The Hurst Show Team’s final chance of bagging a title with last August’s supreme hunter champion Tattygare Me Me Me (82 points) faded when the Gwen Scott-ridden home-bred 2020 daughter of Arkan could only finish second in the five and six-year-old lightweight class.

This was won by William Flood on board Jane and Kieran Kinsella’s home-bred ISH mare Toberpatrick So Dignified (91), a five-year-old chesnut by Dignified van’t Zorgvliet out of the ID mare Toberpatrick Belle (by Skippy Diamond Clover).

Tattygare Me Me Me would only have finished third had the six-year-old chesnut OBOS Quality 004 mare My Lion j’Adore (90) stood still in the final line-up.

Older lightweights

Riding for her mother Aoife, Lucy McCarthy topped the scores in the older lightweight class on Coolcorron Cool As A Breeze (87 points). Another chesnut ISH mare, this seven-year-old by Island Commander was traditionally bred by Michael Byrne out of Coolcorran Gypsey (by Coolcorron Cool Diamond). Second here, but winners of their lightweight sportsman hunter class, were Natasha Hayes and the eight-year-old ISH gelding Ballyeaghan Mocca (86).