STANDING in for a pregnant Rachel Moore Rooney, Britain’s Harrison Taylor had some very nice rides at last week’s Dublin Horse Show which he got off to the perfect start in Ring 1 on Wednesday morning when landing the Tiernan Gill, Gill Group riding horse championship on Gillian Torrens’s Redmays Romeo.

Harrison first topped the final line-up of judges Jack Moore (ride) and Dale Atkinson (conformation) in the ‘large’ class ahead of Jamie Smyth on board Debbie Harrod’s Irish Sport Horse gelding King Of Clubs II, an eight-year-old bay by Riverland Roi, and P.J. Casey with Patrice Dorney’s ‘Baker Street’, a five-year-old ISH gelding by Dunbeggan Coevers Hill.

Harrod and Smyth had won the earlier ‘small’ class with the Traditional ISH gelding Glenkeeran The Last Dance, a five-year-old Crosstown Dancer full-brother to the CIC2* winner Glenkeeran River being out of the unraced Snurge mare Glenkeeran In The Deep. He was bred in Co Louth by Maria Melvin whose husband John, well-known as a cross-country starter on the eventing circuit, was on hand to witness this success.

Second in this well-filled class was Ben Rainey riding Gillian Gill’s home-bred ISH gelding Brymar Royal Voyage, a five-year-old chesnut son of Royaldik, while Nicola Perrin finished third with Ballarin Babette, her four-year-old chesnut traditional ISH mare by Portlaoise First Tuch.

As he was on board King Of Clubs II, Smyth stuck with him for the championship giving the ride on Glenkeeran The Last Dance to Britain’s Emma Green and it was she who was called into the reserve slot behind Taylor and Redmays Romeo.

The champion was bred in Co Limerick by Maria Ranrahan out of Ballynort Cruising (by Drombane Cruising) who was out of a mare by Master Imp. Although the dam was traditionally-bred, Ranrahan has sought other breeds to mate with the 12-year-old, Redmays Romeo being one of two produce by OBOS Quality 004. Torrens purchased her latest champion as a four-year-old.

As there was limited access to the Main Arena all week, there were large crowds around Rings 1 and 2 from early on Wednesday morning.