THERE was a new format to the Creightons hunter section at Balmoral Show this week but, as was the case last year, the supreme championship was won by a five-year-old gelding produced and ridden by Co Wicklow’s Jane Bradbury for longterm owner, Daphne Tierney.

On this occasion, it was the heavyweight bay, Bloomfield Aristocratic, who most impressed judges Katie Jerram Hunnable, Chris Hunnable and Jody Sole. The Kannan gelding won his class on Wednesday ahead of Paulette Cooper’s MJM Laszlo, while, in Thursday’s weight championship, he stood ahead of the four-year-old winner, Thady Lynch’s Natal gelding Killycloghan Supreme Time.

The other weight champions were Kieran Ryan’s Impersonator, a five-year-old grey gelding by Rehy High Society, who was to stand reserve supreme under Claire Gilna, and Hilary Gibson’s six-year-old Porsch gelding Tullynagee Apple Jack who claimed the middleweight title for Jamie Smyth.

In the four-year-old championship, the P.J. Casey-produced and ridden Killycloghan Supreme Time again had to settle for the reserve spot behind the middleweight Mardi Gras, a chesnut Jack Of Diamonds gelding who was ridden by Majella Gray for Angus McDonnell.

There was disappointment for local producers in Wednesday’s youngstock championship when the title went to Regina Daly’s three-year-old Waters Meet, a lightweight grey gelding by Chillout, with Co Mayo’s Thomas Conlon standing reserve with his champion filly, Lisbrogan Gold. Another three-year-old, this chesnut was crowned champion home-bred exhibit.

Daly, who is from Skibbereen, is a regular exhibitor at Balmoral but her supreme champion didn’t travel up from Co Cork but from Newmarket in England where he is being produced by Steve Pitt who also showed Daly’s Future Illusion gelding, Tell Me Another, to win the yearling championship.

Ballynahinch’s Ann Lyons took the reserve sash here with her Tolan R filly, Silent Valley, and filled the same slot in the fillies’ championship with The Quiet River, a bay daughter of Golden Lariat.

Also on Wednesday, Foulksmills’ John Roche won the Tourism NI broodmare championship with his medium/heavyweight 17-year-old Flagmount Diamond bay Assagart Wonder with Wexford Horse Transport’s Rose Garland, a year older Mr H mare, standing reserve.