LAST weekend saw back-to-back fixtures in the Wild Atlantic Way show calendar as Crossmolina and Erris took place within a day of each other.
Crossmolina, just west of Ballina on the N59, went first on Saturday when several Dublin-bound hopefuls featured amongst the champions, starting with the young horse championship.
This was a repeat of last year’s winning owners, as Dermot Gordon and Tiernan Gill had the Crossmolina champion and reserve respectively. Gordon’s unnamed yearling filly is a full-sister to his 2024 champion: Heartbreaker Boy. Both of his home-breds are by Vancouver out of Lux Like Candy, a Sligo Candy Boy x Lux Z x Diamond Lad mare.
His latest Crossmolina champion lines out in next Friday’s Dublin yearling filly class in Ring 1 and also heading to the RDS is Gill’s Flogas Syb, the reserve champion young horse for a second year in a row at the North Mayo show.
It was good to see Gill in top form at the ringside, as Susan McGinty showed her self-confessed favourite of the Flogas team.
By Calvino Z, the grey three-year-old missed the All-Ireland final at Bannow and Rathangan earlier this month due to a minor setback, however, the 2024 Laidlaw young horse reserve champion is all set for next Thursday.
“And then she holds the rectangle up to me,” Martha McDermott’s Templerebel Thea has a Tesco Mobile cats advert moment at Crossmolina Show \ Susan Finnerty
Murphy’s Law
There were five entries in this mixed three-year-old gelding/filly class at Crossmolina and three combined age classes, instead of the traditional six, has now become the new norm for young horse classes at shows.
Crossmolina was also the fifth qualifying show on the western circuit for the inaugural Ireland West Young Horse championship. Aimed at boosting young horse class entries in the west, the final takes place at Ballinrobe (Sunday, September 7th).
Last Saturday’s horse judges - Liam Cotter and Danny Molloy - were in their element in this strong Irish Draught hinterland. It was another good outing for the next Mayo home-bred winner in Pat Murphy’s Puntabegs Lass.
The grey 13-year-old, complete with distinctive roan splashes on her offside, is by former Dublin champion Tors Gentleman Farmer and out of a Crannagh Hero dam, Inisfree Holly Hero.
She had an unstoppable run in Louisburgh’s Draught classes recently, ending the day there as the supreme champion and then followed up with a win in the Irish Draught mare class at Crossmolina.
Meanwhile, Pat’s brother Hughie showed the Crossmolina lightweight broodmare class winner: his wife Mary’s Barnaview Dancing Queen.
A Dublin stinted mare class entry (see the Coote Cup classes preview in this week’s free supplement), this recent Granard winner is by the Swinford couple’s own thoroughbred stallion and ex-Jim Bolger inmate Singing ’N’ Dancing. Her dam is Barnaview Queen, by Clonakilty Hero.
Another getting in a pre-Dublin outing was Laura Foody’s Fidachta Tulip, winner of the middle/heavyweight mare class. The Cougar mare was originally bought as a ‘step-up’ from Laura’s 138cm pony.
Hughie Murphy and Barnaview Dancing Queen with show chairman Anthony Gill at Crossmolina Show \ Susan Finnerty
Grady’s greys
Liam Lynskey’s CSF Fevertree (Glasgow van’t Merelsnest) is a first-time finalist in this year’s The Irish Field Breeders’ Championship. She and her DS Shotgun colt foal DS Sambuca have qualified for next Friday’s show jumping section and the same combination won Crossmolina’s DAFM/Horse Sport Ireland mare and foal class.
In the equivalent eventing mare and foal section last Saturday, the winners - Liz Murphy’s Cappulcorragh Quality Time (O.B.O.S Quality 004) and her Cappulcorragh Time To Dance (a filly by the 2023 Croker Cup champion Galileo Dance) - have also qualified for the Breeders’ Championship next Friday.
The overall foal champion was Declan Ferguson’s pure-bred Draught filly Oxview Hayley with Johnathan McDonnell’s SHS Paloma in reserve. The latter is a filly by the Grandorado TN son Priceless G and from the damline of Harry Allen’s European young riders’ championship bronze medallist horse Over Lux.
Oxview Hayley (the winner too of the combined Irish Draught mare and foal class with her Harkaway Lionhawk dam My Rosie) is by the Holycross son, Inisfree The Holy Grail. The Fergusons are yet another Mayo family to join the RDS convoy. More Irish Draught winning lines were seen in the ridden horse champion: Amy Grady’s Murrisk Ashlawn Dancer, a four-year-old mare by last year’s Dublin Irish Draught reserve champion stallion: Owen Hallinan’s Farmhill Highlander.
“This one is going to Dublin for the four-year-old heavyweights,” Amy said about the mare, bred at the foot of Croagh Patrick by her uncle Michael. The dam is his good winner Ashlawn Star, (Agherlow), herself a previous Louisburgh champion.
Reserve ridden horse champion for a second year was Megan Burke’s Zoega (Carryduff Z) that she has also show jumped. The pair enjoyed a walkover in the opening lightweight hunter class, while entries for show jumping classes, running on the same weekend as Glenamaddy, Tattersalls and Millstreet, were also impacted.
Amy notched up another native breed win, this time aboard the ridden Connemara class winner Dawn’s Surprise (Rogaire na Locha x Blue Robe Thunder), that ended the day as reserve ridden champion pony. Caitlin McMullon won her latest ridden pony title with her mother Annette McMullon’s Hollycreek Sir Sidney (Astral Heart-breaker).
“I’ve four going this year; the Connie [Dawn’s Surprise], two Draughts for the performance class and Murrisk Ashlawn Dancer for the heavyweights. And they’re all grey!” Grady added.
Jolene Bevis and Enya, her eyecatching Irish Cob at Crossmolina Show \ Susan Finnerty
On the loose
Another Connemara to make an appearance in the Crossmolina winners’ enclosure was Sarah Curley’s My Ocean Charlie, by Cailin Finneigeas out of a Moy Hazy Cove dam.
The roan gelding also placed second in an in-hand class in the Connemara section, before winning the Horse Sport Ireland-sponsored loose jumping class for three-year-old ponies.
“My plan is to produce him further, I will probably hunt him with the North Mayo Harriers in the winter and then will bring him to Clifden to sell,” said Sarah.
Her boyfriend Luke Corcoran won the loose jumping horses section and John McGuinness Memorial Cup with RV Queen Canturo. By HSF Canturo Lui, she’s out of a Sligo Candy Boy dam.
“Luke bred RV Queen Canturo himself. His plan is to break her in the back end of the year and then produce her under saddle next year. We’re really happy with both the pony and the mare and how they jumped. It was all about gaining experience for them, but to win both competitions at both shows [Crossmolina and Erris the following day] was an added bonus for us. We’re looking forward to producing them further in the future.”
Liam Lynskey and Matt Gordon were drafted in to judge the Crossmolina loose jumping classes and found both sections were well supported with good entries. Some were brought back for a second round, which proved influential in the final placings, particularly in the ponies.
“The standard was very high in both categories. There were some really quality horses and the winner showed excellent technique and scope. It did everything right every time. The pony winner was a beautiful model, a lovely, balanced canter and correct technique,” Matt said.
The Brazilian Connemara judge
Back to the pony ring, where the overall Connemara champion was Noel Brett’s bay mare Corlough Rua, by Derryveeney Lad out of the Clifden winner Foreglass Lass.
“Her dam Foreglass Lass, by Wings of Victory, won the 10-year-old class in Clifden and the Champion of Champions. She [Foreglass Lass] was champion at Crossmolina Show on two occasions as well.”
Reserve champion Connemara for a second year here was Damien Walsh’s Castlehill Shadow (Black Shadow) whose owner took up showing Connemara ponies last year.
It was a busy weekend with Erris, Brett’s local show, taking place beside Belmullet airstrip, the following day. “We had the showrings and jumps all down and cleared away by 9pm on Sunday night. Cathy Hughes’s mare [Dolly, by Matchmakers Lad] - that won in Ballina - won the championship in Erris,” said Brett. “She and her foal won the combination class too and just looked the part.
“That mare [his Crossmolina champion Corclough Rua] is the dam of Corclough Ginger that was reserve champion to Cathy’s mare in Ballina.”
“I thought he was very fair and that just wasn’t because I won,” added Brett about Clemerson Braga, the Brazilian native-turned-Connemara judge, who was on duty in the pony classes ring at Crossmolina.
Lettermore is now home to Braga, who moved to Ireland in June 2002. “Where I come from, we have something like a rodeo once a year, between July and August for a week. Cowboys, riding bulls, horses, exhibitors with horses, cattle, but nothing like this.
“I grew up in the town but was always on the farm. As soon as I could, I escaped to the farm and I loved the work. Today, we have had a lovely show, lovely ponies and a good photographer too!
“I do enjoy the judging. The young handler class is for me the hardest because you can see that every child is doing their best. But, at the end of the day, somebody needs to be the first, second and third.”
Des McDonnell presents the cup for the ridden horse championship, sponsored by daughter Sophie to Amy O’Grady on Murrisk Ashlawn Dancer. Also pictured are judges Danny Molloy, Liam Cotter and ’next generation’ stewards: Laura Gill, Emma Mulligan and Ciaran Heffernan at Crossmolina Show \ Susan Finnerty
Four-legged saints
He selected nine-year-old Harry McHale as the winner of this young handler class. “It was Harry’s first red rosette on his own and he was second on his little cob called Trooper, in one of the riding classes. We bought Trooper two years ago from a girl in Galway that had grown too big for him,” Harry’s mother Sandra said about their piebald schoolmaster.
“Hopefully, Harry will be a new face and get on well in the future. It’s a great day out for us all and we’re also hoping our little girl will get into ponies and showing next year. And no, no relation to the McHale machinery family!” Sandra replied about any links to the famous Mayo brand, seen in practically every field and along the N59 last weekend.
Another four-legged saint is the Brogan family’s Ginger, winner of the fancy dress class. Last year’s theme was Wizard of Oz, this year the skewbald was transformed into a fluorescent fairy ‘unicorn’, accompanied by Andrea’s daughter Ruby and niece Sarah.
“Ginger will not be for sale, no fear of that. Not many ponies have that much patience with all the dressing up!”
From unicorns to A Free Spirit - Martina Walsh’s in-hand pony champion, shown by Steven Niland. (He also won leading Adrian Burke’s Cappa Amadeus x Gortfree Hero yearling filly in the Irish Draught class).
“She’s a four-year-old by Derryronane Stud’s stallion Hans, broken and riding and will be produced slowly next year in working hunter classes. She’s had a successful show career from a yearling to date,” Steven explained. Aidan Igoe’s entry stood reserve.
The judge From Brazil: Clemerson Braga with Corclough Rua, his Connemara champion and owner-breeder Noel Brett at Crossmolina Show \ Susan Finnerty
Next generation
The warm weather brought out the locals in droves for the 67th anniverary of the revived show, held in a 22-acre community field on the Ballina road. Show chairman Anthony Gill’s three Dublin entries stayed put at home while their owner was busy at the thronged family event.
“Saturday exceeded our expectations, to be honest. The warm weather helped because it wasn’t too hot, there was lots of family entertainment and we just have a great team,” he said, acknowledging the Crossmolina crew, which includes the ideal mix of experience and enthusiasm spread across several generations on their committee.
Just one example is Emma Mulligan, studying Veterinary Medicine in Warsaw, who was one of the stewards in the horse ring. “Five and a half years seemed like a long time at the beginning, but time flies and I can’t believe I’m nearly finished.
“We have a fantastic Irish community over there and, although it can be difficult sometimes, it has become a home away from home.
“Last year, I was kind of thrown into the ring and given the mic, so after that I decided to join the show commitee. I have really enjoyed being part of the Crossmolina show and it’s incredibly rewarding when all the hard work pays off on the day. The committee is made up of genuinely kind and collaborative people, which makes it a pleasure to be involved.
“It has been really eye-opening to see the amount of work that every person puts in to make a show day happen.”