THE young event horse classes at this year’s Dublin Horse Show were somewhat overshadowed by the scoring error in the five-year-old division, as covered in last week’s paper. However, even qualifying for the RDS takes a lot of effort on the part of owners and riders and all who get there have put in a huge amount of work.

It was disappointing that Daragh Byrne, who rode the winner of the five-year-old class, Paul Donovan’s A Sportsfield Diamond, missed his moment of glory in the RDS Main Arena on Thursday morning. His family were all there to support him as were many who were in the Ward Union Pony Club with the rider; he still wears the branch’s helmet cover.

There continues to be much discussion about the phases on Wednesday evening and whether there is a need for any jumping then at all. The ‘dressage’ arena was quite intimidating for young horses (in contrast to that used for the Pony Club combined training competitions) while, having used a triangle to present their horses in the qualifiers, it was a matter of a straight up and down jog at Dublin; this would have suited many of those who showed horses in the broodmare futurity.

Miriam Cunning’s striking grey Sugar Bella (Sarah Ennis) led the five-year-old class on Wednesday evening but showed her inexperience the following morning in the Main Arena where, despite having a fence down, the highest-marked suitability and potential performance came from Drumnaconnell Nico. Lawrence Patterson’s Heritage Fortunus gelding, who finished fifth (90.60), was ridden by Katy MacKenzie.

A Sportsfield Diamond, who completed on a total of 93.02, is by the same Hannovrian stallion but was bred by Agnes Gibbons-White out of her Diamond Serpent mare Dillys Diamond.

The winner is highly regarded by Donovan, who says he could easily have gone down the show jumping route with the bay. Ennis finished second with the Canturo gelding Cooley Cosmopolitan Diamond (93).

Between the early staging of the show and having so many other horses to compete, Jason Higgins and My Kilcannon Annie very nearly failed to qualify for the four-year-old division, which was sponsored by Longines Irish Champions Weekend.

However, in spite of a little water bird doing its best to put Mary Bolger’s Harlequin du Carel mare off her jumping round, she got through at Tullymurry and followed her erstwhile stable-companion Kilcannon High Society in winning here comfortably enough.

The chesnut was awarded the full 15 marks for suitability and potential on Thursday from each of the three judges, Denny Emerson, Jane Holderness-Roddam and Karen O’Connor, to complete on a total of 95.45.

Bred in Tinahely by Eleanor Hadden out of the Taloubet VDL mare Royal Bet (dam also of the British two-star show jumper Temperance), My Kilcannon Annie picked up an extra €1,000 in prize money as the top-placed mare.

Alyssa O’Neill finished second with her grey Lancelot mare Colacentric (94.12), with Daragh Bryne taking third on the Chacoa gelding A Sportsfield Rio (93.15).

Sadly for Emma Hosey, who led after the first day on 35.55, she had a fall with her much-admired Nazar gelding Benjamin Bounce at the Devil’s Dyke.