THERE was a disappointingly small entry for the horse classes at last Sunday’s Irish Pony Society spring show in Barnadown, but that’s not to take away from Amanda Benson’s Irish Sport Horse gelding Ballyconnigar, who claimed the hunter championship under Brian Murphy.

The brown Dignified van’t Zorgvliet five-year-old, who only joined the Murphy yard just before Christmas, had previously won at a training show in Kilbride, but this was his first outing in a proper show atmosphere. He was bred in Co Wexford by Oliver Walsh and carries 63% thoroughbred blood being out of the Financial Reward mare Kilcahill Saphire out of a Colin Diamond mare.

Ballyconnigar’s win in the middleweight class followed that of his more experienced stable-companion The Outsider in the lightweight division. Home-bred by his owner Joanne Doran, this five-year-old ISH gelding by Elusive Emir is out of the Irish Draught mare Ballinard Just Pip, a daughter of Huntingfield Ruler.

In the championship, Murphy sided with Ballyconnigar, leaving Aimee Stunt to take the ride on The Outsider. Both horses are entered in their respective five-year-old and upwards weight classes at Balmoral.

Also in the horse classes, which were all Royal International Horse Show qualifiers, the cob champion was Jennifer Kennedy’s owner-ridden Moneycross, a lightweight nine-year-old grey gelding by WRS Elvis; Nicola Perrin recorded an uncontested victory in the riding horse championship with her ISH mare Ballarin Beaufort, a five-year-old bay daughter of Chelis HC Z; and Orla Maguire claimed the amateur ridden hunter title on board her middle/heavyweight class winner Tumble The Wildcat, a six-year-old ISH gelding by Coolkeeran out of a Clover Flush mare.

None of the winners mentioned above waited around for the supreme horse championship.