AS soon as those competing in the Gallagher Dublin Horse Show side saddle qualifiers left Ring 1 at the Flavours of Fingal County Show last Saturday, Nathan Deakin (ride) and David Kirkpatrick (conformation) entered it to start judging the hunter classes.

First up were the smalls, where their winner was Newtownards exhibitor Andrea McKee on last year’s Dublin champion, the nowadays misnamed Ebony King, who was third at Balmoral in May. The 14-year-old dappled grey gelding, who has numerous championship successes to his credit, was bred not too far from Newbridge House by Willie Shanahan. The more locally-based Amy Watchorn finished second on her Irish Sport Horse gelding Highview Tallorder, a nine-year-old chesnut by Sligo Candy Boy.

There were only three entries in the four-year-old class, but they were three good ones as, at the end of the day, the winner, Brother At Arms, was crowned the White Agri Lusk champion. Ridden by Nicola Perrin for Keith Martin, ‘Bertie’, who was competing at his second show, is by the Irish Draught stallion Granit Hero.

We’re always keen to point out a link between the thoroughbred and sport horse worlds, so we were delighted to learn that Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony, who finished second here on Northern Ranger, spotted the Chacoa gelding when carrying out yearling inspections in Co Tipperary last year. He is called after the original name for the Louth Hunt of which Mahony is a joint-Master.

Up from Co Limerick each year, the O’Brien sisters usually do well at this show and, in this section, Suzanne won the Una Mullarkey lightweight class on her Kieran O’Gorman-bred eight-year-old ISH gelding Munthers Ranger (Munther - Brookfield Royale, by Lux Z). Tara Phelan filled the runner-up slot on her seven-year-old Ulrieke gelding Oban van de Suydersee.

Kieran and Mairead Ryan, who produce Mahony’s Northern Ranger at their Cabragh Lodge Horses’ yard in nearby Oldtown, had a better result in the middleweight class, where their son Ivan topped the line-up on Cnoc Rua Osprey, who has qualified for the ladies’ side saddle class with Becky Rafter.

The Treehoo Sunshine gelding, who was bred in Co Cavan by Tara Coffey out of the Ramiro B mare Cnoc Rua Lucy, won his four-year-old middleweight class in Dublin last year. In May, he was reserve champion lightweight to Highview Pickpocket, having also finished second to the HHS Cornet gelding in their five-year-old and upwards class. On Saturday, the chesnut stood reserve in the Whites Agri Lusk championship.

Having finished second in that middleweight class on his own and Damien McCormack’s nine-year-old ISH gelding Bohermeen Pure Quality (Munther - Floating Valley, by Brookfield Floating Lux), Chris Carter quickly changed over to the couple’s well-known Irish Draught gelding Cloonan Hector for the Kinsealy Landscaping heavyweight class.

This he won on the 14-year-old Clew Bay Bouncer grey, who was bred in Co Mayo by Tom Fitzgerald out of the Crannagh Hero mare Warren Wendy. Well-known judge Kevin McGuinness finished second on Helena Fitzgerald’s eight-year-old Gortfree Hero gelding An Tusail Ciunas.