ONE of the highlights of the recent Killusty Pony Show was the Kiltinan Stud-sponsored all-Ireland pony supreme championship for which qualifiers were held at 10 shows around the country.
Judged by Britain’s Paul Cooke, it was won for the second year running by the traditionally-bred Irish Sport Horse gelding Griffinstown who is ridden by Co Kildare’s Sadhbh O’Connor for her mother Aoife.
The six-year-old bay gelding by the ISH stallion Imperial Tiger was bred in Co Wicklow by Mary-Ann Casey and her mother Jill out of the Irish Draught mare Ducharraig (by Allys Bridge). Winner of the Intermediate show hunter class at Dublin last year, the bay qualified for Killusty when, on his seasonal debut, he won the supreme championship at the Limerick/Clare IPS show at the Banner Equestrian Centre in April.
The reserve supreme was Ann Grimes’s home-bred Irish Sport Pony filly Lambay I’m Amazing, a three-year-old by Woodburys Harlequin out of Lambay Rumor Has It, by Fofsway Noble Lord. This grey was a class winner at last week’s Irish Pony Society championship show in Mullingar and at last Sunday’s Kilbride Show.
Supreme championship
The O’Connors’ trip down to Killusty was well worthwhile as, earlier in the day, Griffinstown won his Intermediate show hunter class, the Intermediate championship and the show’s own supreme championship where he stood ahead of Aine Geoghegan’s Hothall Gladiator.
En route to the reserve spot, that eight-year-old British-bred roan gelding by Islyn Bond was partnered at different times by young jockeys Fionn Redmond and Emily Nee to win the open show hunter lead rein class, place second in the open show hunter first ridden, win the mini show hunter title and then be crowned supreme mini champion.
Another feature of the ridden section of the show was the small hunter championship for which 13 qualifiers had been held nationwide. Here, judges Clive Johnston and Glenn Farrell Walker came down in favour of the Limerick Harriers’ Show graduate Gleann Rua Legacy who was ridden by William McMahon for his wife Grace Maxwell Murphy.
Winner of his small hunter class at Balmoral in May, this five-year-old ISH gelding by Moylough Legacy was home-bred by his owner out of the French Buffet mare Gleann Rua Times, dam previously of the 2022 Dublin supreme hunter champion, Gleann Rua da Vinci (by Camillo VDL). Standing reserve here was the 16-year-old British-bred gelding Tiger Eye who was ridden for Orla Cusack by her daughter Sophie.