These were open to Irish-bred four and five-year-olds who had pre-qualified at three equestrian centres, Ravensdale Lodge, The Meadows and Gransha.

Jean Mitchell, event organiser of next week’s Tattersalls International Horse Trials, judged the dressage test (which accounted for 30% of the total score) in Ring 2 on Wednesday evening. The weather may have been a bit colder and damper than one would have liked for all involved, but Mitchell was pleased with the quality of the horses before her and their production. She sees the class as having great potential.

Following dressage, horses were stripped to appear around the triangle before David Mitchell who judged them for conformation and type, a phase which could garner up to 10% of the overall score.

On Thursday morning, the action moved to the main arena where the earlier than advertised start time caught out spectators, particularly those queuing outside the main gates.

Adrienne Stuart, who had the task of organising and running the qualifiers and final, built a track comprising show jumps followed by rustic/event type fences. This produced mainly clears among the four-year-old division, who had 18 fences to jump, but just five older horses remained unpenalised over their 22-fence track.

The final phase was judged by Eric Smiley, who could award up to 15% of the score for suitability and potential while the jumping round accounted for 45%. He had mixed views on the class.

“It’s easy for those horses who can really jump but for others they aren’t really learning what they need to do but are just doing what the rider tells them; they need to learn to think for themselves. Riders should facilitate learning and become a partner to the process,” he said.

The busy Emma Jackson was pre-show favourite to win both classes and did so comfortably, finishing first and second on geldings owned by Aoghill’s Sean Reynolds in the four-year-old section.

The winner, BLS All Inclusive, who easily topped the jumping scores to complete on 85.47%, is a bay by OBOS Quality 004 out of Mark English’s Euphemism mare My Irish Charm. He has been very competitive in young event horse classes throughout the country. The runner-up, on a total of 81.80, was the Michael Quirke-bred Lux Aventi who is by Ars Vivendi out of the Olympic Lux mare Wood Side.

The highest-placed mare was Graf Unique, ridden by Catherine Robinson for Dromara’s Neil McCluskey. The bay, who was bred in Banbridge by Brian Livingstone, is by the Dutch Warmblood Ustinov. He is out of the Porsch mare Graf Phantom, a half-sister to the three-star eventer Graf Liberty who won the CCI* at Tattersalls two years ago.

Jackson recorded the first clear round in the five-year-old class on J.P. Finlay’s Cushlas Skyimp but this Master Imp mare had to settle for third place (74.63) behind her stable-companion, the rider’s own Waterloo Sunset who completed on 81.22.

This bay Limmerick mare, who is due to start her eventing career tomorrow at Killossery Lodge Stud, was bred by Walter McCorry out of Diamond Galbhaile Court (by Diamond King). The Jackson pair were split by the McCluskey/Robinson representative, Carsonstown Maximus (80.39), a Limmerick gelding who John Carlisle bred out of a Silver Wonder mare.

“I had slight concerns that it was very early in the year for the four-year-olds,” said Stuart, “but I was pleasantly surprised to see how much the horses improved throughout the qualifiers. We kept the qualifying courses very simple in an effort not to scare the youngsters and it was the job of the judges to overlook the greenness and see the raw talent and trainable attitude of the horses.

“I thought the standard of the horses at the final was superb,” she continued. “The arena was an excellent venue to show off the horses’ athleticism over fences and ability to gallop and cover ground in the vast space available. Hopefully next year, when word gets out and about, the competition will become a showcase for the Irish-bred horse and attract more buyers ringside.”