A SMART committee rethinks and reboots after every show, so it will be interesting to see whether the Irish Draught Horse Breeders’ Association (IDHBA) national show will run pre-Dublin in 2027 or returns to its former autumn date.

Compared to last year’s wet, blustery September show day at Punchestown Racecourse, the current heatwave was a bonus; the flip side was 27 degrees heat proved a deterrent for some exhibitors and spectators.

PJ and Majella Glynn’s Crannaghmore Lucky Dip and Saoirse Hartley’s Ballinclare Silver Lady blazed the brightest last Saturday, winning the in-hand and ridden supreme titles.

A three-hour journey from Co Mayo paid off for Pat and Emma Murphy, when their April-foaled filly won the first championship of the day. The foal champion features two Dublin multiple winners in her pedigree, being by Moylough Supremacy and out of the Gortfree Hero mare, Puntabeg Emma’s Star.

“I’d say Mayo have it in the bag today”: Jack Brennan, who led Emma and Pat Murphy’s champion foal at the IDHBA national show accurately predicted the Mayo football team’s chances with judge David Machin \ Susan Finnerty

Dublin-bound, Mary Wilson and David Machin’s pick was also champion foal at the recent IDHBA Westmeath/Offaly Branch Show in Moate and is on the market. The judges stayed with their filly foal class choices as the reserve champion foal - James Hammond’s Melbourne The Iron Lady, by Dunsandle Diamond, had also picked up the blue ribbon in this class.

Last year’s in-hand reserve supreme Valerie Davis’s Castleview Lady Georgina, by Castleview Inisfree Farmer and her Moylough Legacy colt, Cloughroe Legacy Prince won this year’s FBD broodmare/foal combination class.

Reserve in the Nicola McCarthy and Sharyn Alexander-judged class was Puntabeg Emma’s Star and her foal champion. Incidentally, the foal’s yearling full-sister was also a winner on the day in the yearling filly class for Loughrea owner Mike Keane.

Back to the UK judges for the broodmare classes and, by the end of this section, another tricolour sash was earned by Jimmy Heery’s Offaly Clover mare, Offaly Pride.

The reserve champion mare was Sean Scannell’s very traditional type DSC Coolruby, by Coolcronan Wood.

Born lucky

Orla Atkinson and Jim Kingston had mixed numbers in the youngstock section and found both their youngstock champion and reserve from the top pair in the two-year-old filly class.

The champion was PJ and Majella Glynn’s home-bred Crannaghmore Lucky Dip, by Moylough Legacy and out of the Carrickrock Close Shave mare Edenagor Rosie, making the Glynn’s filly a half-sister to the Dublin stallion class winner Edenagor Star.

Second in her class, and following Crannaghmore Lucky Dip all the way through in the youngstock championship, was Frank Redmond’s Oak Brooke Heather, by Killountain Cross and bred by Sean Culleton.

Moylough Legacy is also the sire of this year’s Mare of the Future, Lisa Baker’s Malahow Grace’s Legacy. Judged by Nicola McCarthy and Sharyn Alexander, it was a back-to-back win in this class for the chesnut, last year’s in-hand supreme champion at Punchestown and bred by Jenny Banks.

The Mare of the Future reserve had a busy morning as Padraig Bohan’s Gortfadda Grail’s Delight, by Inisfree The Holy Grail, has already produced her first foal and this colt - Gortfadda Scrap Lad, by Scrapboy - won his class.

His dam was then ‘borrowed’ by son Paul for him to win the young handler class with, reversing last year’s result with Oonagh Bagnall, who took the blue ribbon leading My Carrick Dolly.

The combined judges then gathered in Ring 1 for the supreme in-hand championship between the broodmare, foal and youngstock contenders. After a second look at some of their possibilities and an anxious wait for the expectant owners, their decision was made. Crannaghmore Lucky Dip, an All-Ireland champion as a foal and yearling, was their champion, and Emma Murphy’s filly foal stood reserve.

All Smiles: Amy Kinane aboard KB Country Oliver at the IDHBA national show in Punchestown \ Susan Finnerty

Jenny’s Day

The first of the ridden championships, judged by Jasean Spraggett (ride) and Michael Lyons (conformation) saw a tricolour win for Saoirse Hartley’s Ballinclare Silver Lady, ridden by Aimee Stunt.

By the Cappa Cassanova son Shanaghan Hill and out of a Welcome Diamond dam Anrinnin Silver Lady, the five-year-old mare was bred by Thomas Herlihy.

Another five-year-old stood reserve in Paul Kinane’s KB Country Oliver, bred by Pascal Claffey from his Carrabawn View mare Bellview Golden Girl. Produced by Amy Kinane, the Goldsmith Country Oliver grey won the novice class.

Aidan Flanagan’s Gortfree Hero mare RSH Strings Attached, bred by Maura Rooney, flew the Traditional Irish Horse flag in both the ridden and working hunter rings, enjoying a walkover in the former and a more competitive working hunter class.

Cloonan Hector, Chris Carter’s grand old campaigner, also won two reds in the ridden section.

Kilkenny owner Jenny Williams had a field day too, as both a winning owner and rider in the working hunter classes, over a course that included the famous Punchestown bank.

Her Killayne Jasmine, by Hollypark Diamond and out of the Shenandoah Prince Holly mare Killayne Blue Mist, won the novice class. The Tim Wilson-bred then stood working hunter champion.

Michaela Bowling and Glenn Knipe’s reserve working hunter champion was her other entry: the four-year-old Jackdenvicon, ridden by Diarmuid Ryan. This four-year-old gelding is by WRS Sun Rise out of the Loch Key mare Rooska Vicon.

In the overall ridden supreme showdown, Ballinclare Silver Lady stood supreme, ahead of Killayne Jasmine.

Market values

It will be back to the drawingboard for the national show committee to consider the date for the 2027 show. Dublin Horse Show increasingly appears to dominate the Irish show calendar, as “Can’t go before Dublin” or “Too late to hold a show after Dublin” are the common reasons given by some exhibitors for not entering shows.

Cost is another factor this year and Saturday’s heat may well have had some influence on last-minute non-runners.

All factors to be considered by a pragmatic group whose secretary Bernie Walshe promptly delivered a full set of results after a day that ran like clockwork.

Classes were finished by 3.30pm, which is another trend this year; even some of the larger agricultural shows are wrapping up by mid-afternoon, as seen with the timestamp on the final photo taken on the day.

The Garda Mounted Unit four-legged ambassadors were on duty again at Punchestown, a great market and promotional opportunity for the breed.

It was interesting to hear feedback about the UK market from longtime judges Mary Wilson, a sister of top event agent Clare Ryan, and David Machin, who commented positively on the high standard of mares before them.

Fans of the ‘old traditional’ Draught, both felt there was a market shift towards a more ‘riding type’ in the UK and that both types can exist, as they always have, within the breed.

A parallel was drawn to Connemara ponies, which David felt have become, “very pretty”, while his own personal preference is for the “good old traditional” Connemara type.