GRANARD was the next midlands fixture to benefit from a change of show day weather and Tánaiste Simon Harris was amongst the bumper crowds at its 75th anniversary event last Saturday.
A good road network and tradition of horse breeding equalled nice numbers in the morning breedingstock classes, judged by Philip Scott. His first champion was Hughie and Mary Murphy’s Barnaview Dancing Queen, by the Swinford family’s own thoroughbred Singing ’N’Dancing, sourced from Jim Bolger’s yard.
The Dublin-bound grey, entered for Saturday morning’s stinted mare class, is out of the Clonakilty Hero mare Barnaview Queen, whose dam - Cogans Dawn Star - was a prolific winner in Draught classes.
Another longtime exhibitor family is the Dooner clan from Athlone and their Golden Olive is another good servant, having bred several All Ireland foal champions. By Rockrimmon Silver Diamond out of a Carrabawn Cross dam, her Granard champion foal is by the Tullaghansleek Stud sire Shadow Gate, another thoroughbred stallion.
“I had some very nice classes and my stinted broodmare [Barnaview Dancing Queen] was a lovely, quality mare by a thoroughbred sire, which was lovely to see. She had a very good front leg, flat bone, very light off the ground and was a very balanced moving broodmare,” Scott said.
These thoroughbred-Irish Draught crosses are also a throwback to the half-breds that ruled heavyweight hunter classes. Now with a shortage of these traditional types, purebred Draughts have filled some of that gap.
Scott, who enjoyed much success with one such traditional-cross in Ned and Liz O’Flynn’s frequent winner Oranmore - “he was by Bassompierre” - that went on to great cross-channel success with David Tatlow, was philosophical about the changeover saying, “There’s nothing wrong with that [purebred Draughts in heavyweight classes] if it’s athletic, made correctly and has some movement. Then, yes, of course it fits the job.”
Catherine Egan’s Pablo eyes up the Tully Trophy family, presented by Granard Show chairman Gerry Tully \ Susan Finnerty
Going native
There were more job-appropriate Irish Draughts in their well-supported section and here the champion was Padraig Bohan’s four-year-old mare Gortfadda Diamonds. By Inisfree The Iron Cross out of the Heigh Ho Dubh mare Gortfadda Heigh Ho, she returns to Dublin in two weeks’ time to defend last year’s win in the young mares class on Thursday’s ‘Draught Day’.
She also qualified with her Tors Gentleman Farmer filly foal for the Leitrim Breeders combination final at the Bohan’s local show: Mohill. “Our Draught mare champion is scopey, traditional and very light on her feet. I rewarded animals today that looked like Irish Draughts as, to me, when I’m judging Draughts, they have to look like Draughts. The breed has got very light, so I like to see a Draught with bone and substance. My attitude is always to say, if I saw a Draught in a field, is that a Draught or not? A number of them could certainly fit into the half-bred category now.
“It’s like the Connemara, they still have to have bone and substance. Just because they have bone and substance, doesn’t mean they can’t move. They’re native breeds,” added the Knockmore judge.
His reserve Draught champion was a notable one as PJ and Majella Glynn’s yearling Crannaghmore Lucky Dip was clocking up her sixth class of the season.
By Moylough Legacy, she is a half-sister of the 2023 Dublin Horse Show champion Irish Draught stallion Edenagor Star, as both are out of the Carrickrock Close Shave mare, Edenagor Rosie.
Unfortunately, she was lost foaling this year, however her Dunsandle Diamond filly - a full-sister to Edenagor Star - is thriving with a foster mare.
Granard Show secretary Hazel McVeigh and ISA representatives Orla Fox, Paula Loughran and Martina Jameson pose with the Hickstead Derby Trophy \ Susan Finnerty
There was good news for Darragh and Niamh Glynn on their South African honeymoon as Coolin Lady C, bred by them, was the reserve young horse champion for Tara Esler.
By Centennial, her Aughrim Knight dam Mary’s Lady is another, like Golden Olive, to have produced an All Ireland foal champion.
Donna Cowens and Danny Molloy’s overall young horse champion was Dessie Gibson’s Ireland’s Call, his second recent midlands title after also winning at Longford County.
By Dignified van’t Zorgvliet and out of the Desir du Chateau mare Rossa Bibi, the two-year-old gelding was bred in Co Wexford by Joe Walsh.
The same judges were also in charge of the ridden horse section and Shirley Hurst, who led Irelands Call, was also aboard Sharon Kelly’s ridden champion: Annaghmore Dunkirk.
Last year’s All Ireland three-year-old champion at Bannow and Rathangan, the HHS Cornet gelding is a half-brother to this year’s victor, Annaghmore Flo Pleasure. Both of Kelly’s winners were bred by Aoife Healion.
Pony tricolours
Cathy Snow, judging in Denmark next week, had a range of Connemara championships to decide. Fresh from attending his local Moate Show (Sunday, August 24th) launch the previous night, Eugene Doyle won the in-hand title with his good servant Hillside Rose.
A recent winner too at the North East Connemara Pony Breeders Show, the 17-year-old was bred by Jarlath Grogan and is by Laerkens Cascade Dawn and out of the late Mayo man’s well-known Mountain Lady.
The junior championship went to James Naan’s Galloon Barney Óg, by Galloon Rollover, also bred by the Fermanagh man. After a successful career at HOYS, the Royal International and Olympia level, Galloon Rollover returned to stand at stud in Co Cavan with Tommy Sexton.
Galloon Barney Óg’s Hazy Match dam Tullanna Lisabelle notched up two All Ireland titles, as a yearling and three-year-old, with a Clifden win in between as a two-year-old.
James Naan with his Granard junior champion: Galloon Barney Óg \ Susan Finnerty
Mark Condron’s dun Currabawn Rambo was the ridden Connemara championship. By Gwennic de Goariva out of Currabawn Clare, he was bred by Ian and Shauna Heslin, whose daughter Shauna was in the saddle and the pair were also recent winners at Longford County.
Fiona Callaghan judged the ridden ponies section and the youngest Granard champion was Georgia Mai Nannery. In just her third show outing with Gerry Fennell’s leadrein winner Parcglas Zoom, the new partnership won their first championship.
“Huge thanks to Gerry for giving us the opportunity to show the pony and Claire Lynch for seeing the potential in the combination. The pairing of ‘G&T’ - Georgia and ‘Tony’ - in the ring made dreams come true!” said her proud mother Clare.
“Ta an athas orm” .. Paul Bohan holds the Flanagan Cup aloft after his father Padraig’s Gortfadda Diamonds won the Irish Draught championship \ Susan Finnerty
Unbroken link
“DO you think Eddie was at the show?” remarked one passer-by to her companion, as they browsed one of several window displays in Granard premises to mark the 75th anniversary of the local agricultural show.
This particular display was at the pub, owned by Sean Donohoe who previously worked for Granard’s famous son, Eddie Macken.
Among the items in this particular window was a souvenir rosette from the 1982 world championships held in Dublin and local vet Brian Gormley’s Rome horse show pass.
“There used to be 120 show jumping entries,” said Brian himself, when he drove into the Granard Showgrounds last Sunday. Saturday’s programme was a typical agricultural show, while a handful of show jumping classes for horses took place the following day.
No pony classes which makes sense, competing against the Home Pony International taking place at Cavan just up the road. Its a pattern we’ve seen at other agricultural shows, trying to compete with the lure of all-weather arenas and the luxury of indoor arenas.
The irony is Granard’s manicured surface is pristine, with hardly a trace of the previous day’s traffic visible.
By coincidence, last Sunday coincided with the FEI European show jumping championships individual final in A Coruña where young Seamus Hughes Kennedy and Darragh Kenny put in stellar top-10 performances. 46 years ago, before either were born, Eddie Macken and Boomerang finished fourth in the 1979 European championships in Rotterdam. They were already part of the bronze medal Irish team of Gerry Mullins (Ballinderry), John Roche (Maigh Cullin) and the late Con Power (Rockbarton).
Hopes were high that Eddie and Boomerang, faultless throughout the championships, would finally land an individual gold but it was not to be. A late decision by the water jump fence judge - Brian Gormley maintained it was a piece of mud flung out of one of Boomerang’s shoes that caused that verdict - and the pair finished fourth instead.
Grainne Gormley, Charlie Murphy, Fiona Macken, Susanne Macken, Pat Murphy, Lizzie Donohoe, Gerry Tully and Pat Reed at Granard’s 75th anniversary show \ Susan Finnerty
Four was also the magic number of consecutive Hickstead Derby wins by the Irish pair. The star attraction at Granard show is the annual appearance of the famous trophy, depicting Eddie and Boomerang coming down the Hickstead bank.
The iconic trophy was on display the previous day in the secretary’s office, against a backdrop of newspaper clippings. Yellowing, yes but with invaluable, pre-internet records and headlines of the Granard man and the Tipperary-bred winnings around the globe.
“I remember watching the Aga Khan Nations Cup on television. Eddie and Boomerang were household names, everyone knew of them,” said Irish Shows Association representative Paula Loughran. Lizzie Donohoe, Eddie Macken’s niece, and her son Seán, the Irish Horse World’s new apprentice photographer, were on guard again the next day with the trophy.
Before Susanne Macken brought this piece of history back to Kells after its annual outing, who should arrive but Pat Murphy and his partner Pat Reed.
All Ireland hurling final or not, the Tipperary pair have driven up from Grangemockler for Granard Show’s 75th anniversary. Why? Well, it was Pat’s late father Jimmy who bred the phenomenal Boomerang.
The meeting of the breeder’s son and mentor Gormley is something special. Without either Jimmy Murphy and Brian Gormley, would we have seen the same scale of Macken’s success and the acquired heroes status of he and his Tipperary-bred?
Connection
The lovely connection between Jimmy and Susanne was mentioned in Pat’s feature: The Boomerang Trail, which appeared in The Irish Field in late May.
“We kept in touch all the time, didn’t we?” Susanne said, turning to Pat.
“All the time, all the time. My father was very fond of Susanne, they got on like a house on fire and she was great to keep the link going,” Pat replied.
“Boomerang was just the best, we were very lucky to have him. They were a fantastic combination and he wasn’t an easy horse by any means. He was... interesting! But a great character, absolutely brilliant and with a big heart,” added Susanne.
From Charlie Murphy, whose family owned Mostrim before he became an Army Equitation School recruit and Gerry Mullins’ speed horse, to Grainne Gormley, whose late mother Anne was another of Eddie’s early mentors and a former secretary of her local show and then her father Brian, who introduced the six-bar competition to Granard Show and amateur show jumping in Ireland, plus current show chairman Gerry Tully - they each have their own stories about the Eddie Macken and Boomerang era.
It’s a different era now, with a small cluster of diehard show jumping supporters in attendance on Sunday.
Progress has also brought the SJI Live app, a gamechanger in Irish show jumping and somewhere amongst the current pony riders in its database are the names of the next generation of Seamus Hughes Kennedys and Eddie Mackens.
Its a world away from Macken and his pony jumping years with Granard Boy and Granard Lad. Imagine explaining SJI Live or the fact that the next event in the Showgrounds that night is drive-in bingo, a carryover from Covid-19, to the showgoers of the early 1960s?
Or that a device called a smartphone can tell you that Richard Vogel and United Touch S are that afternoon’s new European champions?
Brian Gormley continues his drive around the Showgrounds to speak with owners and riders, some his clients during his lengthy career as a much-respected vet; Adam Campbell and HVL Black Pearl win this year’s six-bar competition and then its time to clear the course for the bingo brigade.
And for Pat Murphy to relish Tipperary’s All Ireland win.
“I was chuffed, absolutely delighted to go to Granard,” he said this week. “Susanne was always a lovely lady and to be there for their 75th anniversary show was something very special.”