‘DIFFERENT year, same fools!” was one exhibitor’s good-natured greeting on Sunday morning, as the agricultural shows got underway at Newmarket on Fergus.

This Banner County show and Thomastown were the traditional May Bank Holiday weekend start of the show season and where well-known showmen often scouted for fresh horses.

Despite the weather forecast and the lure of the Clare vs Limerick match, there was a good ringside audience to watch the summer contenders. Between the overhead planes from nearby Shannon Airport and the show field’s proximity to the M17 motorway, there were few apparent signs of less traffic, although the cost of filling up at the fuel pumps and its knock-on effect on the show season were undoubtedly the main talking points amongst those spectators.

Newmarket on Fergus has often proved the springboard for previous Balmoral and Dublin champions, most recently Pat Finn’s Frenchfort Kildysart Lady.

Reserve young horse champion here as a three-year-old, she went on to win both the All-Ireland final at Tydavnet, the Dublin young horse championship and was reserve champion, plus the highest-placed filly, in the All-Ireland final at Bannow and Rathangan last summer.

Sean Duggan’s Heatherside Lagans Prince was last year’s Newmarket on Fergus champion and the now two-year-old returned to put in his double-title bid.

Yearling classes kicked off the young horse section, judged by Conor MacCormaic and Danny Molloy.

Frenchfort Kildysart Lady’s producer Tiernan Gill was the winning owner in the yearling gelding class with his Flogas Vassinikaat, by Cassini Gold, taking the first red rosette of the summer. It was a busy start to the show season for UL Equine Science student Alex Gill, who also showed his father’s yearling filly class winner, Flogas Vajenna, by Cape Coral RBF.

Heatherside Lagans Prince won the opening two-year-old class before John Burchill’s 7am start from Skibbereen paid off when his Hardrock Z filly ABC Pop Rock won the other. The Hardrock Z filly is another - like ABC Bobby Jean two years ago - of Burchill’s Newmarket on Fergus prize-winning fillies sourced from their Carlow breeder, Pat Kehoe.

The Glynn family were out in force for the opening show and, after several earlier placings, Darragh and Niamh enjoyed a breakthrough win in the three-year-old gelding class with their VG Elusive Knight, the 2024 All-Ireland yearling champion at Barryroe.

Brendan Newell’s sixth-generation home-bred Kilcahill Ruby is also from a family of All-Ireland champions and the reigning Limerick Lady booked her place in an intriguing ‘first show of the year’ championship by winning the filly section.

Six Generations Strong: Brendan Newell with the Newmarket on Fergus young horse champion, Kilcahill Ruby \ Susan Finnerty

Champions’ profiles

The judges opted for Newell’s traditionally-bred filly as their overall young horse champion, with Heatherside Lagans Prince settling for this year’s reserve sash.

“We saw her as a worthy champion, with bags of presence and a super walk,” Molloy commented afterwards.

By Financial Reward, Kilcahill Ruby’s third dam Madonna Hill was the Claregalway family’s big winner in the mid-90s. By Triggerero, she produced Kilcahill Naomi (Clover Brigade), the grand-dam of Sunday’s champion.

Slotting in between is Kilcahill Diamond (Colin Diamond), who won the 2010 All-Ireland filly foal final at Moate, a feat her daughter Kilcahill Ruby repeated three years ago.

“Delighted to win the championship at Newmarket on Fergus. It was Kilcahill Ruby’s first show of the 2026 season and it’s always great to get off to a winning start,” said Brendan.

“2025 was very memorable, as she won at Balmoral, the Limerick Lady and was reserve champion two-year-old at Dublin Horse Show.”

Plans for this year, built around son Matthew’s international athletics calendar, include return visits to Balmoral and Dublin, plus the two All-Ireland three-year-old finals: Bannow and Rathangan, where she qualified for on Sunday and the filly final at Tydavnet.

Heatherside Lagans Prince also had a good year in 2025, winning nine out of 10 classes last year and always in the top-two places. By the OBOS Quality son Lagans OBOS Quality, the reserve champion’s dam is the Voltaire granddaughter Clenagh Princess (Valentino-N).

She jumped up to 1.40m level with Sean’s brother Gearoid and has bred four foals for the Duggan family, including Jason Dunphy’s Viva’s Star (Vivant van de Heffinck). He won the Dublin two-year-old championship in 2022 and the lucrative Brian Boru young horse championship at Clarecastle the following year.

A Day of Bays: Roisin Cahill with Mary and Gillian McCarthy’s working hunter champion Robucks Trixie and judge Nicholas Byrne \ Susan Finnerty

Distinct winner

The ridden horse classes later continued in the same ring and with the same pair of judges, just as the skies opened.

Despite the Northern Ireland Festival clash, entries were on a par with recent years. Several were having a pre-Balmoral tune-up, including the reserve ridden horse champion: Grace Maxwell Murphy’s Hollypark Hunt Ball.

A five-year-old pure Irish Draught, the heavyweight is by the Welcome Diamond son Drishane Diamond and was bred by Hollypark Irish Horses’s Mike McDonagh, who sold him to his neighbours last year.

Hunt Ball and William McMahon stood second in the opening hunter class to the eventual ridden champion, Bloomfield Distinction. Bred by Jim Seymour, the OBOS Quality bay already has Balmoral form, having won the supreme championship there in 2021 with Jane Bradbury aboard.

“’Nixon’ is owned by Liz Powting and came to me at the end of last season after the team thought a change of scene would be good for him,” said his current jockey Harry Scanlan, explaining the horse’s return to his Munster roots.

“We spent the winter hacking through the mountains and rivers, and this is his first show back. It’s also my first time back in the ring after nearly a full year out following shoulder reconstruction surgery. He’s been an absolute gentleman, a proper armchair ride.

“I’m really grateful to both Mrs Powting and Hannah Bishop for trusting me with their beautiful boy and for giving me such a lovely horse to come back on.”

The IPS intermediate classes (158cm) are a ‘step between’ show hunter pony and hunters and Sunday’s intermediate champion was Alannah Glynn’s Castletaylor Honeysuckle.

By the Irish Draught stallion Callows Comet Gold, she bought the now four-year-old from a Done Deal advert two years ago and showed her in-hand locally last summer. Dublin is a possible option for the pair this year. Jessica McAuliffe and Question Mark stood reserve champion.

“Days like this”

In the adjoining Connemara ring, John Nee had moderate numbers to judge in the in-hand section. He found his champion in Kealin Murray’s three-year-old Fairyhill Freddie, while the reserve was Caoimhe Feeney’s two-year-old filly Kilrainey Rose.

Originally from Inishbofin and now based in Abbeyknockmoy, Kealin was delighted with the bay’s win, saying: “My love for Connemara ponies started as a very young child, because they’re so versatile and native to my home. I love training young horses and ponies and my hunting.

“My plan with Fairyhill Freddie is to break him and have him for under saddle next season. To work towards the RDS and HOYS would be my dream,” she added about the Lough Melvin Gorteen bay colt, which passed as Class 1 at the stallion springtime inspections.

“It was an early show, so a lot of the show ponies won’t be ready yet. The champion had power, he had everything and what we’re losing in the Connemara is the power and substance,” Nee remarked.

His fellow Galwegian judge Nicholas Byrne found plenty of Connemaras in his working hunter classes, where the champion was Mary and Gillian McCarthy’s Robucks Trixie.

Roisin Cahill, the 10-year-old pony’s pilot for the previous three years, took time off from her Leaving Cert studies for Sunday’s win, and the team hopes to qualify for Dublin, having finished one place away from qualifying last year.

“Days like this make the 6am starts and 10pm finishes worth it!

“My mother Mary owns the dam, who she bought from Lady Hemphill at Tulira Castle.

“We bred Trixie, who is by Tulira Robuck and the dam is by Kingstown Cavalier. Roisin and Trixie qualified at the IPS show in Duffy’s for the Balmoral Connemara working hunter out of 36 ponies,” said Gillian.

Standing reserve was a new combination for this year; Mollie Russell and Miss Serena Royale, who got off to a winning start at the IPS Spring Show before adding a win in Sunday’s 143cm section to their record. The Dublin qualifier is their next aim.

“They were very, very good. They’d hold their own in any competition,” said Byrne.

First Day Out: Loretta Hanley and Leonard Supple with daughter Georgia at her first horse show \ Susan Finnerty

“Never fails to make a judge smile!”

It was good to see the Irish Pony Society classes back at Newmarket on Fergus, after the clash with the Northern Ireland Festival had put them on hold in other years. Some even combined a flying visit to the Festival at Cavan Equestrian Centre with a trip to Newmarket-on-Fergus over the weekend.

Claire Bannon was the capable ‘IPS’ ringmaster, while Denise Colebrooke started her day’s duty in the ridden pony ring with a lovely entry for the local lead rein class.

“It was a great day, apart from the showers. I had some strong classes with good depth of quality. My winners were true-to-type ponies with manners and natural movement. A great turnout of local lead reins were enjoyed by all.”

Last year’s Dublin show hunter pony champion Scalacre Eclipse, with Ella Moran, added another closer to home title, while Aoife Flynn’s Beautiful Affair stood reserve.

Amongst more of Denise’s champions were Donal Frawley’s Ard Betsy (mini), Tarka Johnston’s My Brown Eyed Girl (starter stakes) and Clodagh McDonagh’s Kilshanny Annie (local working hunter).

The respective reserve championships in these three showdowns were Enzo Rocca Houlihan with Bronheulog Gold Dust, Cormac Hogan and My Ferrari and Ella Tuohy with Hillbrook Blossom.

Both Izzy Stapleton’s Prince and the McCarthy’s Robucks Trixie took home reserve champion sashes in the ridden Connemara and supreme pony championships, won by Lauren Kerins and Larkill Lad.

“The supreme champion Larkhill Lad was a proper pony with plenty of presence,” remarked Denise.

“I’ve been competing ‘Lad’ since he was a six-year-old and I bought him as an eight-year-old. He won the Clifden ridden championship in 2018 and the Clifden working hunter championship in 2025,” said his delighted Co Mayo owner.

“He’s at home in the ring and never fails to make a judge smile! I was considering heading home after his fantastic working hunter jumping round because of the weather, but the ground held up well and it was certainly worth the wait!

“What was even more special was that his half-brother - both Dunally Lad ponies - came reserve beside him in the Connemara pony championship. A very special line,” Lauren added about her multi-champion, bred by Owen Hughes.

Around the ringside

Multi-tasking new mums, lucrative championships, flying the flag in Brazil, ‘cow cams’ and a Clare Island commute - all at Newmarket on Fergus.

  • The show site is overlooked by the Belvedere watchtower, built by local landlord Sir Edward O’Brien, from where he watched horse races held in the surrounding fields. The racing enthusiast even named Newmarket on Fergus, the local village, after its British racing capital namesake, while the Fergus is a nearby tributary of the Shannon River.
  • Both landmarks have given their names to feature classes at the upcoming Clarecastle Show (Saturday, July 18th) as the new Fergus foal and Shannon Connemara championships run alongside the Brian Boru young horse and Banner Breeders’ Championship. Three generations of the Slattery family took a break from organising the show for a day out with their Newmarket on Fergus neighbours.
  • Loretta Hanley’s lovely grey Be In The Moment had a great run last year, including the Horse Sport Ireland broodmare championship win at Charleville. While ‘Bonnie’ stayed home last Sunday, Loretta, Leonard Supple and their daughter Georgia had a family day out. “It was a bit of a balancing act last year, working full-time, doing the Masters and being pregnant, but I got there thankfully,” said Loretta, who had Georgia last November, then received her Masters in Human Resources Management at UCC five weeks ago. “Bonnie had a Der Senaat filly foal this year, so our plan is to have her out in the mare and foal classes, with the main aim being Dublin. Myself and Leonard will be in the showring together this year and Georgia ringside, all going well.”
  • With the upcoming school championships this month and possible qualification slots for the World under-20s championships in Eugene, Oregon, Matthew Newell let dad Brendan clock up the ringside laps instead last Sunday. The talented young Claregalway athlete competes in road walking and recently competed in Brazil. “I’m just back from the World Team Championships in Brasilia, where I finished 21st, leading the Irish team to an eighth-place team finish and also came away with a personal best time.”
  • Nicholas Byrne kept tabs on an in-calf cow back home in Oughterard through the power of technology. “I can check the camera on the phone, but everything is fine. I have somebody on standby too, just in case. I do enjoy the judging, very much so, other than that, I wouldn’t be at it. It’s my day out. There’s nothing else that I’m involved in, except farming and now I’m putting up posters.” Not of the Wanted variety though. “The Galway by-election!”
  • The Gluas - Galway’s proposed cousin to Dublin’s Luas - and public transport is one of the by-election topics. Any commuter stuck in Galway city traffic would envy Lauren Kerins’ idyllic commute, as she travels by ferry from Louisburgh to work on Clare Island, off the Mayo coast. “Always O’Malley’s ferry in the morning, mostly O’Malley’s in the afternoon, but sometimes O’Grady’s when they run in the summer months. It’s the best commute ever! I work part-time as a primary school teacher in St Patrick’s National School, Monday to Wednesday, and do the ponies the rest of the week,” said Lauren, who won the supreme pony championship last Sunday. “We currently have 11 pupils, many of whom are pony mad! I walk or cycle the 3km from the pier to the school usually and pass a few lovely Kerry Bog Ponies on my way and pay my ‘apple tax/toll’. There are as many ponies on the island as children, I reckon!”