THE sunny south-east lived up to its reputation last Thursday when bumper crowds headed to the White family’s farm in Killag for Bannow and Rathangan Show, already gearing up for its 75th anniversary show next year.
As reported in last week’s news, the 2025 All-Ireland three-year-old final was won for a second successive year by Sharon Kelly, this time with Annaghmore Flo Pleasure, a half-brother to her 2024 Bannow champion: Annaghmore Dunkirk.
This year’s judges were Rosemary Connors (paying a return visit to Bannow’s Ring 9, where she had won the All-Ireland final nine years ago with the home-bred Woodfield Xtra) and racehorse trainer Chris Gordon, from Hampshire.
Due to last week’s hot weather, toned down by a sea breeze from nearby Kilmore Quay, the judges’ first task was to select their best turned out from the field. This was done during the preliminary line-up as the three-year-olds and their handlers are sorted into numerical order before judging proper begins and Steven Mitten was their choice for this prize.
Although the Wexford man, who has shown several Bannow final prize winners in recent years, had to leave the ring after an injury picked up during the final, he has since reported that he’s none the worse for wear and was delighted with the news of his award.
Best-turned-out selection over early, exhibitors then had the option of removing tweed and suit jackets in the sweltering conditions, also counteracted by copious amounts of bottled water handed out to the finalists by the stewards.
The final itself then heated up with its preliminary line-up headed by Pat Finn’s Frenchfort Kildysart Lady, an All-Ireland filly champion as a yearling and two-year-old at Bridgetown and Kildysart in her native county, as she was bred by Gerard Grace.
Monahan/Monaghan
The fillies in this year’s line-up were particularly strong and included Rebecca Monahan’s Dermish Not A Dare (CC Captain Cruise), young horse champion at Dublin last summer.
Monahan is the only owner to have won the Bannow final with a filly, back in 2015 when her Notalot (Lancelot) won then and it looked like Finn’s entry, shown by Philippa Scott, could possibly match that record.
However, it was Annaghmore Flo Pleasure that was promoted from 12th place to champion in the final order. It’s been quite a week for Monaghan breeding as the champion’s sire is For Kinmar Hero Z, owned by Dermott Lennon and Gerry Marron. Meanwhile, Gerry’s namesake neighbour and a soon bride-to-be Ciara Marron bred Rachel Proudley’s European young riders individual gold medallist horse Quality Street (OBOS Quality).
Annaghmore Flo Pleasure, like Annaghmore Dunkirk (HHS Cornet), was bred in the midlands by Aoife Healion and is from the damline of Marion Hughes’ Flo Jo. Already with one All-Ireland title to his credit - the Connolly’s Red Mills All-Ireland two-year-old championship at Tinahely last August - he is one of several Bannow finalists heading for a Dublin rematch next month.
The latest win shortened the five-hour drive home for equine physio Sharon Kelly, accompanied by niece Tori Beckett and canine companion Lily. “I’d also like to thank Kelly, Paula and all the team at home in Tattygare for their help and support behind the scenes and [producers] Shirley and Adrian [Hurst] too of course,” said Kelly, who has now caught the showing bug.
“I also bought some nice foals from Ballyherrin Stud in Donegal, nearly as far north as you can go. I went there to buy a foal by All Star but he wasn’t for me, so instead I bought a grey filly by Chacoon Blue. I don’t do greys and I didn’t want a filly! She’s exceptional though, so I might show her next year.”
Frenchfort Kildysart Lady stood reserve, followed by another filly in the top-three: Yvonne Pearson’s home-bred Double Act (Centre Stage) out of the prolific winner Kief Queen B, a former Coote Cup broodmare at Dublin.
Fourth place in the lucrative Galway Crystal and Belleek Living/Horse Sport Ireland final was David Kilcoyne’s KMR Rusticco (Conticco), who had a similarly lengthy journey, having travelled from Belmullet in west Mayo.
Martin and Mary Murphy’s CG The Sweetest Thing (Hardrock Z) was another Mayo finalist and filly in the top six and separating the Mayo pair in fifth place was Declan Daly’s Hayfield Tigger (Zebadiah).
1999-2025
It was a strong showing by fillies in this year’s final and another rematch is on the cards as several have qualified for the All-Ireland three-year-old filly final, held this year in Tydavnet (Saturday, August 16th). Not so strong in numbers were traditional-breds with numbers dropping from six last year to just two this year.
Although there were 21 three-year-olds in last Thursday’s final, there could have been more. Several Wexford and surrounding counties’ exhibitors were disappointed that Adamstown - one of only two other agricultural shows in the Model County, Gorey being the other - was not allocated its usual qualifying places this year.
There is little doubt that had Adamstown been held even the weekend before Bannow and Rathangan, that their meticulous secretary Liz Freeman would still have produced a shipshape All-Ireland section in the show catalogue.
The Bannow ringside judges are a shrewd bunch and some can recall every champion from the very first - Denis Collins, from Rosscarbery, with April Sting (1999) up to the latest champion.
As for the official judges, Chris Gordon had this to say afterwards: “It was great to be invited back and it’s just so lovely to see so many young horses with so much quality about them. I think Rosemary got sort of emotional about that, as she hasn’t seen such quality for a long time. It was a huge thing for us both to do and a great privilege [judging the final].
“It’s all about quality, the winner is a lovely horse and it was great to see so many nice horses.
“When you’re pulling them out again and you’re having a really good look, standing into them and around them... then you can see all the good points, as well as the bad points, so there was a fair old change around,” he replied, when asked about the ‘cabinet reshuffle’ after the preliminary line-up.
Taking a morning off from the political scene was Verona Murphy, the Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann, who was raised on a farm in Ramsgrange. For her family and countless others around the south-east, a day off to go to this show is a generations-old summertime tradition.
What they said:
“The national show jumping championships in Salthill brought massive crowds too. We were one of the sponsors and there was a Galway Crystal sign just in front of the RTÉ cameras, so it was fantastic advertising for us. I remember Brian McSharry of course, there were Galway hooker boats out in Galway Bay, so that was a great backdrop for their cameras. We gave Galway Crystal trophies to the winners. I said to Paul Darragh that we’d arrange to have his trophy sent to him but he wanted to take it home then and there in the lorry, the riders loved to have those trophies. Then the local residents were unhappy about the lorries and the parking so the championships moved to the Claddagh. It was never the same once it moved from Salthill.”
James Callaghan, Galway Crystal and Belleek China, reminisces about the Salthill era.
“Most of the time, I just train racehorses! I was at Hickstead a couple of weeks ago for the Derby meeting and all I could say was it was disappointing [entries]. I was judging working hunters and it was very small classes. I think I got to ride four in each class, but I’m not a good man [to ask about the UK show horse market because I literally do two shows a year, timewise I just can’t do any more.
“I thoroughly enjoy it when I do, but I wouldn’t be reading the Horse & Hound and looking to see what’s going on any more.”
Chris Gordon, on his quality-not-quantity approach to judging.
“I’m here every year, keeping up the family tradition! My late father Paddy Murphy was a livestock dealer and he loved horses. Walter Kent, the 92 years-young show president, and himself would have been great friends and Killag was the highlight of his year. It was a big break from the farming to come and see what was one of his favourite pastimes: horses.”
Verona Murphy about how a day at Bannow and Rathangan was a family tradition.
“I was very lucky, she [Carrigshawn Doctro] belongs to my sister Alice, but Alice has just made the Kildare football under-20 squad and had training on Thursday, so she let me take the horse!”
Leanne O’Sullivan made the most of a gift horse day by winning the working hunter championship.
Champions round-up
IF the All-Ireland final centrestage ring is numbered nine, that’s an indication of the size of Bannow and Rathangan show.
As has been the norm this year, some of the biggest entries were seen in the family pony and working hunter classes. Leanne O’Sullivan, the former Horse Sense editor in this paper and now a senior marketing executive at Horse Racing Ireland, won the working hunter horse championship on the catch ride Carrigshawn Doctro (Dondoctro Ryal K), owned by her sister Alice.
Reserve champion in the Kitty Shanahan and Kevin McGuinness-judged section was Alicia Devlin Byrne with Gort Town Dancer (Gortfree Hero). Her Wexford trip was ahead of another busy weekend for the Wicklow owner, also seen at the Westmeath/Offaly IDHBA branch show on Saturday with her string of Irish Draughts.
In the Irish Draught championship in the young horse ring, the tricolour went to Joan Douglas and John Murphy’s Cody (Clogheen Captain Jack), with fellow Model County exhibitor Danielle Mulligan showing the reserve: Draoicht Dubh.
The Bannow young horse title went to JJ Bowe’s Chacoa three-year-old gelding and the reserve was Michael Goland’s Heigh Ho Dubh. John Lenihan, one of last year’s All-Ireland judges, was in charge of this section.
Limerickman Joe Donoghue judged the broodmare classes and found his champion in John Roche’s Assagart Fairytale (Coroner). The reigning Coote Cup champion retained her 2024 Bannow championship title, ahead of Brendan Tobin’s Princess.
Brian Murphy had a flat-out day at Killag and produced both the champion and reserve champions: Amanda Benson’s Masquerade and Regina Daly’s Carravilla Enough Said (Chillout) respectively in the Kate Horgan and Johnny Codd-judged show hunter classes. (The same pair also judged the ridden horse classes, where Gigginstown House Stud’s Samcro was their champion, ahead of George Chapman’s grey).
Tara Hudson had a similar ridden hunter double in the pony section, judged by Marion Condren. Her champion pony was Hudson’s Mermus (Mermus R) and his stable companion Lucarelli Rosa (Lucarelli) stood reserve.
Jane Darragh did not have the largest youngstock entries to whittle down from - a sign of the times unfortunately - but had some nice classes to choose from. Her youngstock champion was Jerry Maloney’s recent Charleville champion Barryroe Princess Honeysuckle (Hilin Oriole), ahead of Barossa Stud’s Barossa Royal Diplomat (Rathnaleen Sinatra).
West Cork breeder-exhibitor Maloney’s “four-hour drive home to milk cows!” was lightened by another Bannow tricolour for his same pony, this time the reserve overall in-hand pony champion. The champion title was awarded to Ronnie White’s broodmare class winner Joules.
Isla Garnicle’s City View was the Mountain and Moorland champion, ahead of Sarah Lyons’ Crumpwell Harper.
Last but not least, that most humble of equines, the donkey had their 15 minutes of fame too at Bannow and Rathangan. Laois owner Hugh Degan returned home to the midlands with his champion and reserve pair.
Bannow is another flagship event in the show calendar and fortunate to have one of the best show secretaries in the aforementioned Liz Freeman. Even so, the problem of late entries, entries on the day and sparse breeding details in the catalogue has been a bugbear yet again this summer.
Bar local family pony and clear round jumping classes, surely a blanket ban on late entries could be introduced to make the lot of these volunteer secretaries and stewards an easier one?