MILLSTREET’S Noel C Duggan, Spruce Meadows’ Ron Southern and Clarecastle’s Michael Slattery are three individuals who have dreamt of and acted upon ideas to bring something new and innovative to the horse world.

Slattery’s vision in 2016 was to create a different horse show; one with quality championships, huge prize money to make a day at a show worthwhile for exhibitors, exquisite finishing touches and most of all, a ‘reward the breeder’ purpose.

When the news of the Breeders Championship at Dublin cancellation broke in February, several shows stepped up to fill the gap for a section of the Irish sport horse industry who are as passionate about their ‘World Cup,’ as Argentinians are about football.

Athlone ran a super mare/foal combination class in June; Clarecastle upped the ante by changing its usual Banner Broodmare championship into a fully-subscribed 50/50 mare and foal championship with exceptional prize money and bonuses, including 20 stallion nominations.

Another new addition was the opening €5,000 Fergus foal championship, held in a massive, beautifully-presented Ardagh Ring. Well-supported in its inaugural year, some of the Galwegians regarded Pat Finn’s win with Frenchfort Hardrock Hero, a Hardrock Z colt, as a lucky omen. Not to be for the Tribesmen in Croke Park the next day up against a better Limerick team, although Finn’s good run was to continue in the later Banner Breeders championship.

Siobhan Madden and David Alcorn’s reserve champion foal was Eileen and Jimmy Furlong’s Thistletown Number Five, by Call Me Number One. Bonnie, his Foxglen Cruise Control dam, is another former Breeders Championship finalist at Dublin and produced last year’s All Ireland filly foal winner at Moate.

Third in this Horse Sport Ireland-sponsored event was Rebecca Monahan’s traditionally-bred Not A Word, by CC Captain Cruise out of the Loughehoe Guy mare Notalie.

Connemara champs

Over in the Shannon showrings, Catherine Angel and Val Noone selected the first of two Connemara champions when Eugene Doyle’s Hillside Rose, by Laerkens Cascade Dawn, was crowned the in-hand supreme champion. Bred by the late Jarlath Grogan, Hillside Rose’s Currachmore Cashel filly wore a matching tricolour from the foal championship.

The reserve supreme in-hand champion was Sinead McGrath’s recent Longford champion Lucky Bonnie (Drumbad Fletcher Moss). Róisín & Pádraic Gannon’s dun colt Cuach Cornarone (Cornarone Hazy Lad) had won the earlier junior championship ahead of Hannah Gordon’s Rock of Belass (Black Shadow).

In the adjacent ring, Shauna Finneran and George O’Malley sorted the ridden Connemara classes, finding their champion in Kitty Concannon’s Cappakea Maams Boy (Maams Hero), while Charlotte Collins’s Coose Sammy (Killoughter Watson) was their reserve choice.

Meanwhile, back at the Brian Boru young horse ring (more of the show’s Celtic and Banner County branding, even the dog show runs under the Cú Chulainn banner) the individual championships were run off.

In the opening Traditional Irish Horse category, Kilcahill Ruby, Brendan Newell’s reigning Limerick Lady, won ahead of John Crowley’s Bridevalley Frankie (Dunsandle Diamond) and Niamh & Darragh Glynn’s VG Elusive Knight (Elusive Emir) to add the Philip Heenan Cup to the filly’s growing silverware collection.

The Irish Draught section saw another homebred and another win for P.J. & Majella Glynn’s Crannaghmore Lucky Dip (Moylough Legacy), the recent in-hand supreme champion at the IDHBA national show in Punchestown.

Second was another Midlands exhibitor in young Katie Doyle who showed Edenagor Susie (King Elvis 1) to take the blue ribbon and third was another good campaigner this year in Marcus Donnellan’s Suileen Cool Bouncer (DS Ballagh Bouncer).

George O’Malley and Shauna Finneran with their ridden Connemara champion: Kitty Concannon’s beach-loving Cappakea Maams Boy \ Bernard Dilger

‘Go big or go home’

While the TIH, Irish Draught and some Connemara classes could have been better supported, quality and quantity was seen in the first of the Brian Boru sport horse classes. This was for a strong class - to use that ubiquitous phrase - of two and three-year-olds.

Fresh from his recent win in the Bannow & Rathangan Show Society/Galway Crystal All Ireland three-year-old final in Wexford, it was another major win for John Burchill’s Ballard Highway Lad (Another Pleasure). Rebecca Monahan’s run of good placings last Saturday continued when her Dermish Again (Chacoa) placed second, ahead of the Newell family’s Kilcahill Ruby.

Some exhibitors debate on whether this Clarecastle championship should be split into two and three-year-old sections - or even four classes - to include seperate championships for geldings and fillies. The Clarecastle format does put youngsters straight to work and is perhaps an indication of the future of young horse classes at summer shows.

Pony youngstock sections are often reduced to one class and most shows now run just three young horse classes for yearlings, two and three-year-olds. From Clarecastle’s perspective, there’s also the ‘find out if you’re club or Croke Park material’ thinking of its chairman Michael Slattery, who has refereed three All Ireland finals.

Yearlings did have a seperate championship and here Valerie Glass and Joe O’Donohue’s winner was James Meere’s Lagans OBOS Quality filly, ahead of Pat Finn’s Frenchfort Kildysart Mikie (Chelis HC Z) and Niamh & Darragh Glynn’s VG Belfast Boy (Centennial).

The top-four from these four classes resumed battle later after the Banner Breeders championship. Confined to 20 entries, the prize money was exceptional with a €9,000 prize fund, sponsored by HSI and 20 stallion nominations valued at €12,000.

Eyleen Nugent and Tim Wilson’s inaugural champion choice was Hurst Show Horses’ Kilbrackan Cornet Queen and her foal Tattygare Kalone, by Ermitage Kalone, the superstar stallion withdrawn just this week from the Belgian team for the upcoming World Equestrian Games.

A six-year-old, Kilbrackan Cornet Queen also won the €200 bonus for her breeder Donal Cadden and is by Orestus VDL out of a Cornet Obolensky mare, Cornetta 10.

Thistletown Stud’s good day continued when the combined pair of Bonnie and her fifth foal Thistletown Number Five were reserve and in third was Pat Finn’s Penelope and her Fergus foal champion Frenchfort Hardrock Hero.

His Jardonnay VDL mare, shown in her youngstock years by former owner Tiernan Gill, continues to deliver, having been the reserve champion mare in the show jumping section of what proved to be the final Breeders Championship at Dublin.

Placings reversed

The Brian Boru young horse championship followed in this ring and here the entire morning’s results were scrambled with two new judges - Siobhan Madden and Kieran McGuinness - in the centre of the ring. The top-four from the earlier classes were eligible for the overall supreme title with €2,000 to the winner from its €6,200 prize fund.

This was another magnificent sight in the premier showring, lined with keen fans, as they watched the finale in Mediterranean-like heat. By the judges’ own admissions, it was a virtual toss of a coin between the top-two contenders before the verdict came down in favour of Brendan Newell’s filly over John Burchill’s Ballard Highway Lad.

Just the previous week, this pair had finished top of the All Ireland final at Bannow & Rathangan Show, however Kilcahill Ruby reversed that result in Clarecastle. Brendan Newell, John Burchill and the other sporting owners deserve great credit for bringing out their summer champions when the temptation to keep them at home wrapped up in pre-Dublin cotton wool is sometimes strong.

It was a fitting end to a day of superb showring highlights, all crowned with thoughtful finishing touches by the committee. “I’d say win, lose, or draw, anyone who was at Clarecastle Show would describe it as a resounding WOW!” Matthew Newell said afterwards.

“It really is on a completely different level to any other show in the country, with the standard in the classes rivalling that of Dublin. From the ring decor to the “Rose of Clare” appearance to end the day, there is no show like a Slattery show!”

Many winners are naturally complimentary afterwards about an event. Leonard Supple’s feedback was interesting too as he and Loretta Hanley had shown her Be In The Moment Elm and her De Senaat 111 foal in the Banner Breeders, where they placed fifth.

“Lovely location in Clarecastle. It was our first time there and it was great to be in the mix in a hot class that essentially was as good as a Dublin Breeders class. They came from all corners, travelled for hours to make the show. Obviously the prize money to sixth place is incredible and it [Banner Breeders] was a tough class to judge, no matter who you are, so no negatives. Plus, the water break in the middle of the class put the pep back in the step!”

Matthew Newell with the Philip Heenan Cup, the start of Kilcahill Ruby’s Clarecastle trove \ Susan Finnerty

Advance the good name

It’s hard to believe that last Saturday was only the eighth running of Clarecastle - Covid, of course, knocked off two years while the lack of a suitable date put it on hold in 2025 - as the show simply gets better and better.

The show has found the perfect site with the ‘old turf’ ground of the Claremount showfield coming in for widespread praise. ‘Hydration breaks’ for exhibitors have become the norm at finals during the recent heatwave, although it was water that was doled out by the Clarecastle stewards and not the Burren Whiskey and Coole Liqueur samples later given out to the championships’ line-ups!

Prize money talks. In a year of rising costs, the prize money on offer through the Department of Food, Agriculture and the Marine, administered by Horse Sport Ireland, went back to owners’ and breeders’ pockets, justifying a show day outing. Timmy Dooley, DAFM Minister of State, HSI CEO Denis Duggan and breeding manager Sonja Egan were there to see this for themselves.

Michael Slattery, the show’s tireless chairman, alluded to the prize money in his post-show comment, saying: “Our objectives were to support the breeders of the Irish Sport Horse, to offer suitable entertainment and to advance the good name of our native place. We believe our aims were achieved. The grounds were excellent, the sun shone and the competition for the generous prize money was fierce. Our judges, drawn from all parts of Ireland were excellent and our sponsors’ support was exceptional. I thank all who made our show a success.

“If we succeed in securing a suitable date from the Irish Shows Association, we will present a similar event in 2027, with an improved performance in all sections of a show that is highly regarded by many.”

Well-known judge Siobhan Madden, on duty at Clarecastle Show, presented with her Best Hat bonus prize by Cathal Crowe TD \ Susan Finnerty

Around the ringside

  • Patrick and Dolly Connolly are still walking on air after James Kann Cruz and Shane Sweetnam’s timely €500,000 Falsterbo Derby win just the previous Sunday. It was Patrick’s turn in the spotlight when, during the show’s official opening ceremony, he received a Clarecastle silver medal for his contribution to Irish sport horse breeding. Shane had sent a special message to the breeders of his WEG-bound horse, saying: “Congrats to Patrick and the whole Connolly family, this is an accolade that he totally deserves. I’ve got to know the Connolly family pretty well over the last couple of years through James Kann Cruz’s journey, and it’s a much-deserved reward for them and their breeding operation that something like this can happen, and hopefully for them in the future, it can happen again. Enjoy your day - well deserved. Congratulations!”
  • “We really appreciate and were honoured to receive the award which has taken pride of place in our home,” Dolly reported afterwards. “Michael’s commitment, dedication and attention to detail has made the show the huge success that it is. We thoroughly enjoyed the day, and meeting Susan and so many people who are involved in the horse industry.”
  • Special thanks goes to the owners who donated nominations to their stallions for a draw which took place during the Banner Breeders Championship. Coverings to Another Pleasure (based at Tullaghansleek Stud), Billy Zeus (Carrabeg Stud), CSF Castlelawn (Castlelawn Stud), Caracas (Drumhowan Stud), Cuick Star Kervec (Breen Equestrian Ltd), DS Are You With Me (Derryronane Stud), Durango VDL (Castlefield Sporthorses), GR Cornet (Garryrichard Stud), Gibeon (Slyguff Stud), Imperial Tiger (Ballyquirke Stud), Kopperfield (Thomas Maloney), Let The Lion Roar (Bridge House Stud), Paris Blue Merelsnest Z (Glynnwood Stud), Sligo Candy Boy (Sligo West Stud), Tenor Du Gue (Clongeel Stud), Udancer Hero (Hazel Arch Farm) and Z7 Mevano (Coolin House Stud) plus three of Hadley Sport Horses’ team: Harpeur du Seigneur, Harvey By HSH and Phenomene Bleu VDM were kindly donated. Each stallion had a full page advertisement and colour photo included in the show catalogue.
  • As four-legged proof of the bonus, Edel and Dominic Curtin’s fourth-placed Corgrigg George in the Fergus foal championship is the result of a previous nomination won at Clarecastle.
  • Another beneficiary is the Newell family’s Kilcahill Ruby, a poster girl for the Traditional Irish Horse Association. The Financial Reward bay is a recipient of the TIHA Mares Breeding Scheme.
  • Robbie and Barbara Fallon, great supporters of the Shannon Connemara classes and currently in California, were much missed last Saturday.
  • George O’Malley donated a new cup - the Nuala O’Malley Memorial Cup this year to join the Pat Gleeson and Philip Heenan silverware. Another addition was the Bridget Hehir Shield for the Fergus foal championship. This was sponsored by Rebecca Walsh and Dylan Slattery, in memory of his great-grandmother Bridget who lived to 101 years of age.
  • The inaugural winner of the Nuala O’Malley cup was Kitty Concannon. “I picked Cappakea Maams Boy (Stormy) from the October Sales in 2024 and my parents bought him for me as a 21st birthday present. He’s now five and has exceeded all expectations! Qualifying him for the intermediate side-saddle at Dublin this year has been the highlight of the season for me.” Hacking and schooling at Omey Island and Rossadillisk beaches are the laid-back bay’s playgrounds. “It was my first time attending Clarecastle but we will definitely be back! The rings were big and beautiful and the show was very well run.”
  • Jodie Moran, awaiting back surgery on Wednesday, took a ringside seat to watch the IPS classes at Clarecastle and described it as “one of the best-ran shows I’ve ever been to. Everything was so easy and a lovely atmosphere, even from my chair! We’ll definitely be back. I’ll be on foot for the RDS, but that might be better as I can have a sociable RDS for once.” Niece Ella Moran won the show hunter pony championship and supreme title with her 133cms Scalacre Eclipse, while Jodie’s daughter Pippa won the mini championship with Newoak Hot Gossip.
  • Black and white - the same colours as the local ‘Magpies’ team - is the usual dress code for the Clarecastle team. Adding a pop of colour to the occasion were Siobhan Madden, whose pink hat to match her recent Royal Ascot outfit won the Cork lady the Best Hat prize and steward Pat Lynch, sporting a matching colour tie.
  • The pressure is on another of the Clarecastle stewards - David Hanrahan - to come up with another eyecatching hat each year for the show. “My wife and I spent a couple of nights making this hat; the showjump is lollipop sticks painted black and white,” he explained about this year’s creation, complete with model horses, a dog and flowers to represent Clarecastle’s horticultural section.
  • Colin Doyle took a day off from preparations for Thursday night’s launch for his local show Moate (Sunday, August 23rd) to support Clarecastle. “My second time at the show and [brother] David’s first time there. He has been talking about it to people all day afterwards!”
  • Preparations are one matter, ‘mopping up’ is another. Megan Browne, the teenage daughter of show secretary Nichola Shannon, had the Clarecastle results emailed in by the following day.