THE organisers of the Wicklow Summer Show certainly weren’t skimping when it came to the number of rings at Barnadown last Sunday when eight were in operation.

While the afternoon action in the Main Grass Arena was given over to the Connolly’s Red Mills champion of champions’ finals, the show’s own hunter section was held in this superb ring in the morning.

Selected as champion by judges Kevin McGuinness (ride) and Nicole Groyer (conformation) was the middleweight class winner, the six-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Mr Venture Elm (Newmarket Venture – Sunny Elm, by WRS Sun Rich) who was ridden, as usual, by Jamie Smyth for Co Down owner Hilary Gibson.

A good day for Co Kildare owner/rider Nicola Perrin began when she won the opening four-year-old class on Ballarin Valentina (Lagans OBOS Quality – Voltaire Lady, by Lancelot). She then stood reserve champion on the bay ISH mare who was to compete again in the afternoon.

The other class winners, whose riders all contested the Red Mills finals, were the Shane McKenna-partnered 10-year-old lightweight gelding Carrowgar Herald (by Herald 3); the four-year-old Dignified van’t Zorgvliet gelding Glandoran Sega Mega who won the heavyweight class under Aubrey Chapman; and the Rosemary Connors-ridden five-year-old Ras Na Ri gelding Woodie Wiggle who topped the line-up in the small hunter class.

In Ring 1, the working hunter champion was Wellerman (Anchorman – Cloonagh Luxury, by Lux Z who Luke Coen rides for himself and his wife Charlotte Hatton. The black ISH gelding, who has qualified for both the four-year-old working hunter class and the four-year-old young event horse class at Dublin, won both the 90cms and 1m classes on Sunday.

The reserve champion was the 1.10m class winner King Of Moveen (Rehy High Society – Moveen Queen, by Glencarrig Finn) who is ridden by Eve Doyle for her mother Claire Goodwillie. This 13-year-old ISH gelding has qualified for the older lightweight working hunter class at the upcoming Gallagher Dublin Horse Show.

While there were other classes in Ring 2, the championship was confined to those in the ridden horse section from where the riding horse class winner went on to claim the title. This was the four-year-old ISH gelding Lochdan Tobias (Vivant van de Heffinck – Baskin Wuthering Heights,by Chacoa) who was ridden by Katie Crozier for Emma O’Gorman Wall.

The bay is heading to Dublin as is the five-year-old ISH gelding Greenhall Top Shelf (Financial Reward – Greenhall High Tide, by Green) who, ridden by Shane McKenna for his mother Janet, stood second to Lochdan Tobias in both their riding horse class and the championship.

Even in Co Wexford, the in-hand classes aren’t as popular with exhibitors as they once were but the broodmare championship in Ring 5 was fought out by two of the usual local suspects, the Rothwell and Jeffares families, who had finished first and second respectively in the TIH, part-bred, Irish Draught class with two traditional home-bred ISH mares.

Derry Rothwell claimed the title with his eight-year-old Greenhall Bees Knees (Castle Crest – Greenhall Last Web, by Weavers Web) while, on behalf of herself and husband Des, Margaret Jeffares showed the year younger Ballykelly Countess (Gortfree Hero – Ballykelly Hi Hope, by Big Sink Hope) to stand reserve.

The champion Irish Draught mare was Richie Middleton’s eight-year-old chesnut Callows Luna (Callows Comet Gold – Kingstead Emma, by Donovan).

Derry Rothwell also won the young horse championship with his three-year-old home-bred ISH gelding Greenhall Wicklow Way (HHS Cornet – Greenhall Wicklow Heather, by Mermus R). Here, the reserve slot was filled by the Irish Draught youngstock champion, Frank Redmond’s two-year-old filly Oak Brooke Heather (Killountain Cross – Good As Gold, by Moylough Bouncer).

On a very busy day, Ring 3 was devoted to ridden pony classes where the mini champion was the show hunter pony class winner Rookey Haribo who was ridden by Daisy Toomey for her grandmother Geraldine Power

Local ponies ruled the roost in Ring 4, Ring 6 was devoted to in-hand ponies and Ring 7 to working hunter ponies.

The main working hunter champion was the 10-year-old Connemara mare Cluainin Spring Johnson (Robe Johnson – Spring Rose Marie, by Thunderball) who won the 133cms class under owner Patricia O’Donnell’s daughter Judy.