Margie McLoone

JODIE Ronan won the Longines Irish Champions Weekend small event horse class last year on her own Ardeo Dime, but although Ronan qualified Ardeo Illusion at Forth Mountain last month, Leila Barker will be on board the Beach Ball gelding next week, as she was when the chesnut was second last August.

The six-year-old is one of 16 horses between 150cms and 160cms due to come before Danny Emerson and Karen O’Connor of the USA and Britain’s Jane Holderness-Roddam for the presentation phase in Ring 2 on Wednesday evening and in the RDS Main Arena early the following morning.

Paul Donovan is bringing a large consignment of horses to the Dublin Horse Show, among them girlfriend Sharon Power’s well-related Ars Vivendi five-year-old SRS Mini Vendi, one of nine mares in the class.

Also by the same sire is Kerry Parkhill’s year older mare Vivendi Way who is out of a thoroughbred dam.

Joan Dahill’s Glencairn Ivy (by Andy’s Pride) plus John and Barbara Walshe’s Ballinaguilkey Oyster (by Mirah’s Oyster Bandit) are both also engaged in the younger Connemara performance hunter championship.

Janice Reddy’s Ardnacashel Cosmopolitan sounds as if he might by a Connemara but the five-year-old is, in fact, by the Dutch Warmblood stallion Ustinov.

Contesting the series for the first time, Donegal show jumper Kelda Morgan was delighted to have qualified her five-year-old Mermus R gelding Altaskin Merlin, while veterinary surgeon Diarmuid Ryan, who had a busy couple of months qualifying Connemaras and Irish Draughts as well, rides Judy Quirke’s seven-year-old Ganty Blazer mare Cullion Kemira.

There are only two other male riders in the class, Jason Furlong who qualified John Carlin and Jill Earls’s five-year-old home-bred mare Mongorry Mighty Saoirse (by Mighty Dan) and one-time champion apprentice Eddie Leonard who partners his own Westside Mirah gelding Westside Monty.