SCOTLAND’s Marie-Claire Nimmo (conformation and movement) will be joined by William Fox-Pitt (five to seven-year-olds) and Nicola Wilson (eight to 15-year-olds) to judge the Berney Bros Saddlery Connemara performance hunter classes in Ring 2 from 11.30am on Wednesday.

An interesting exhibitor in the younger pony class is Adrienne Stuart who is well-known as owner of the Gransha Equestrian Centre in Bangor and as performance/working hunter course builder at Balmoral.

She owns the five-year-old Rusheen Boy gelding Muckrim Niall who qualified at Orchard Lodge under Charlotte Harding.

Co Meath’s Phoebe Horgan returns with her mother Hannah’s Garvagh Moonlight Boy, the now seven-year-old Monaghanstown Boy gelding, on whom she was second in this class last August and with whom she has also qualified for the 153cms working hunter final next week.

A regular owner/rider combination at Dublin, Emily McGowan and Lesley Jones also return with Derrylackey Playboy, the 2020 Lightening Star gelding who was fourth in his flat class last August.

There are three mares and one stallion qualified, that sole entire being Noreen O’Connor’s Barr A Leam Shadow, a five-year-old grey by I Love You Melody out of a Silver Shadow mare who qualified at Rincoola in the hands of the owner’s granddaughter, Jessica Murphy.

There’s one stallion also in the eight to 15-year-old class, Sophie Countess von Maltzan’s Bettyspark Shadow who displayed his well-being at the recent Wicklow summer show at Barnadown. This eight-year-old, who qualified at Scarteen with Toby Lambe, is by Silver Shadow out of a Linsfort Barney mare.

Elizabeth Cooke qualified at Orchard Lodge on Tawnagh Lad, the 10-year-old Classiebawn Black Jack gelding on whom she won the open working hunter pony championship at Balmoral in May and with whom she was on the winning Irish team at the Junior Tetrathlon home international in England in early June.

Diarmuid Ryan rides the nine-year-old Clifden Silver gelding Pem Boy while Amelia Durkan qualified on the similarly-aged Classiebawn Black Jack gelding Busy Bee who Ryan partnered to victory in the young ponies class back in 2022.

Other well-known ponies in the older class are Charlotte Keer’s 13-year-old Creemully Western Melody gelding Western Ocala (Megan Houston), Elaine Kilbane’s owner-ridden nine-year-old Coosheen Stormboy gelding Roisín Star, Liz Power’s 13-year-old Cashelbay Prince gelding Kilshanny Robert (Emma Keogh) and Mary Teeling’s nine-year-old Shanbo Jimmy gelding Shanbo Myles (Moya Teeling).

Mentioned already, Bettyspark Shadow can be seen again late on Wednesday afternoon in the stallion parade in Ring 1 while both he and Barr A Leam Shadow are expected to also go in the ridden Connemara stallion class in Ring 2 on Thursday evening.