THERE weren’t as many horse exhibitors as usual from Northern Ireland at last week’s Royal Highland Show outside Edinburgh where the good weather resulted in a sell-out crowd last Saturday.

The in-form Jamie Smyth won the heavyweight ridden hunter class, a Horse Of The Year Show qualifier, with Debbie Harrod’s Irish Sport Horse gelding BBK Flynn who was novice supreme champion at the Northern Ireland Festival in May. Shown in-hand as a youngster by Dessie Gibson, this Arkan bay was bred in Co Down by David Mulholland out of the Ballynolin Dudley mare BBK Sumaya.

Also riding for Harrod, Smyth had to settle for second in the small hunter class on the Seamus Leacy-bred six-year-old ISH gelding Highview Overado (Cavalier Land – Redinagh Black Jack, by Jack Of Diamonds) who was reserve small hunter champion at Dublin last August. Here, the winner was the 2022 Dublin small hunter champion Randalstown Lord Sugar who, unfortunately, has no recorded pedigree.

Ellie Stunt partnered Amanda Benson’s 2024 Balmoral supreme hunter champion Madre Rua to finish second in the lightweight class. This six-year-old Loughehoe Guy gelding was bred in Co Westmeath by Paul Cleary out of the Crosstown Dancer mare Glenkeeran Danceintherain. Topping the final line-up was the Peter Walsh-bred ISH gelding Origis Pw, a 2019 bay son of Ulysses M2S out of Rathfylane Storm (by Royal Storm).

The middleweight class was won by the ISH gelding Edenagor Ned who was ridden for Scottish owner Chloe McDonald by James Murno. Bred in Co Donegal by Jim McNulty out of the Loughehoe Guy mare Edenagor Enya, this 2019 son of Scrapman topped (€26,000) the two-day 2023 October Sale at Goresbridge to which he had been consigned by Mark English. The chesnut went on to stand supreme hunter champion ahead of Origis Pw.

The ridden hunters were judged by Anne Leaver (conformation) and Beanie Sturgis (ride). The latter was one of two overseas judges at the Young Eventhorse Series qualifier in Scarteen earlier this month.

Masterpiece

As usual, leading Scottish rider/producer Kirsty Douglas had a good show and among her wins was that in the small riding horse class on the Ivan Jones-bred Creagh Masterpiece, a six-year-old bay gelding by Dunbeggan Coevers Hill. Rachel Moore Rooney finished fifth in the large riding horse class on Gillian Torrens’s six-year-old ISH gelding Redmays Romeo (by OBOS Quality 004) just ahead of Gwen Scott on Anne Gomes’s Balmoral class winner Memory Lane, a five-year-old ISH mare by Island Commander.

Douglas was second on the 2011 gelding Mr Bear in the lightweight cob class but, as the vast majority of the horses in the cob section have no recorded breeding, it’s impossible to know if they were bred in this country.

Comber’s David Kirkpatrick won the two-year-old in-hand hunter class with Redwood Phoenix, an ISH gelding by Vivant van de Heffinck who was bred in Co Kerry by Dan Dalton out of the Chacoa mare Frisco Chacoa. He also showed the bay’s full-brother, Redwood Orion, to finish fifth in the yearling class.

Crossgar’s Tim Martin showed his wife Pat’s ISH gelding The Final Choice to finish third in the three-year-old class. Bred in Co Offaly by Patrick Delaney, the Jack The Robin bay, who is out of Garrymore Mullintine Imp (by Mullentine Cavalier), is a half-brother to Rossmount Point who finished sixth in the CCI2*-S at Lisgarvan last August. That Pointilliste gelding was then ridden by Canada’s Sabrina Glaser but has since been purchased by Co Meath amateur event rider Denis Coakley.

Ponies

I won’t have picked up on all those who competed in the pony showing classes but did see that among those placed were Heather Lowry’s Annadale Prince Charming and Eileen Millar’s Out Of The West (second and sixth in the 133cm show hunter pony class), Sarah O’Rourke’s Pineview Romeo (sixth 123cm SHP class), John McCormick’s Rotherwood It’s The Business (fifth 148cm riding pony class) and Jason McPolin’s Thornleigh Sir Robin (sixth Intermediate show horse class).

Under Emily McPolin, Thornleigh Sir Robin also placed fourth in the Intermediate working hunter pony class where Jessica Murphy was sixth with Darcy de Chanteloube. Murphy also partnered Mary McDonnell’s Highview Royal Meelin to place fifth in the 153cm WHP class where Ned Kelly finished fourth on Indian Joe. Holly Logan was fifth in the 143cm division with Owens Shadow. Apologies to those I have missed.

The Scott family of Glebeview Clydesdales in Limavady fared best among the northern exhibitors in the heavy horse division when second in the teams of four turnout class. They were also fourth in both the single horse class and the Unicorn formation class.

Fourth place was also attained in the yearling filly class by Coleraine exhibitors Geoffrey and Lesley Tanner with Cloghan Maisie who finished second in similar company at this year’s Balmoral Show, having won the junior filly foal class in Ballymena last December. The Doura Aird Ambition bay was bred by George and Elizabeth Smyth out of Cloghan Jodie.