THERE were huge entries for Saturday’s working hunter classes at the Tattersalls Ireland July Show, with Andrea Hodgson (ride) and Chris Hewlett (conformation) judging well into the evening - despite starting at 8.30am.
In contrast, the TopSpec ring, with its excellent jumping track, was only used for two classes on Sunday afternoon. One hopes this imbalance will be sorted out for next year, as it was a shame to see the ring unused on Sunday morning.
Hodgson and Hewlett found their Snailbox Bar and Restaurant champion in the Donnellys Hardware Ratoath green hunter class, where their line-up was headed by Victoria Mullen’s Irish Sport Horse gelding Shannondale Romeo. The Michael Walsh-bred four-year-old is by the Zangersheide stallion Canturex VDF Z out of Rhonda van Overis Z (by Ramiro Z).
Their reserve champion, and winner of the Eamonn Egan open class (which was one of the many qualifiers over the two days of showing for next year’s Royal International Horse Show), was the Luke Coen-ridden Linky M, a combination who have qualified for the five and six-year-old lightweight working hunter class at Dublin.
The 2021 gelding by Vivant van de Heffinck is owned by Andy Cox and Susanne Macken, the latter breeding the bay out of the Quidam de Revel mare Ravissante du Reverdy, who jumped at CSI3* level with Damien Dixon.
Coen also won the Snailbox Bar and Restaurant novice class with the John O’Toole-bred four-year-old black gelding Wellerman (Anchorman - Cloonagh Luxury, by Lux Z), who he used to own with his wife Charlotte Hatton, but recently sold to Amanda Torrens, a great supporter of all equestrian sports including racing.
Lesley Jones finished second here on Yvonne Pearson’s five-year-old home-bred Centre Stage mare Claudie The Dandy, but the Co Down rider/owner duo claimed the honours in the Luxloo.ie 1.05m open with the Paddy Donnellan-bred Quality Choice, a nine-year-old OBOS Quality 004 gelding, who won the CCI1*-Intro at Millstreet in May and has been placed at EI110 level.
Where’s Walter
Action in the TopSpec working hunter arena commenced with the Treo Eile-sponsored thoroughbred class, which was won by Valerie Osborne on Where’s Walter, a nine-year-old unraced gelding by Sepoy. Louise Duffy finished second on the 14-year-old Buck’s Boum gelding Al Boum Photo, the winner of 10 races including back-to-back runnings of the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
As stated earlier, only two working hunter classes were judged by Philippa Scott (ride) and Chris Hewlett (conformation) on Sunday.
The Foley Auctioneers Dunshaughlin Irish Draught class was won by Louise Lyons on Lady Perdita Blackwood’s well-known Miriam Burney-bred eight-year-old gelding Clandeboye (Scrapman - Libertias Trueblue, by Western Light) who, well-placed on Saturday, ended the weekend as the show’s overall Irish Draught champion.
A delighted Joy Murray, who doesn’t live too far from the sales complex, was judged winner of the Tadg Riordan Motors Ashbourne working show horse class with her 14-year-old bay gelding Bee Smooth, on whom she won the cob working hunter class at Balmoral in May.