Margie McLoone

FOLLOWING her hard week at the Dublin Horse Show, Amory McMahon spent the past few days relaxing at the Galway Races.

At the RDS, the Athenry rider had no luck in the small riding horse class on her mother Kate’s former track performer Via Del Corso but, in the Lindt side saddle division, she found only Antonia de Burgh too good for her in the Ladies’ class.

Here, the numbers being judged in Ring 2 on Thursday evening by Amy Bryan-Dowell (ride) and Patricia Stirling (conformation) were quickly reduced by two.

Lesley Webb received quite a heavy fall when Billet Doux, who had been acting up, finally got her out of the saddle and, shortly afterwards, Jennifer Kennedy excused herself with Tandys Bridge.

De Burgh was called to form the initial line-up with her multi-purpose Cobra gelding Gypsy Cobra Cruis, ahead of the 2014 winners, Cheryl Cusack and Whitfield Jack of Hearts, Laura Hyde riding the family’s Buster King gelding The Publisher and McMahon, who had been legged up on Helena Hennessy Ruane’s Arthur’s Gold gelding Cloneyhea Clancy.

fancied

Some of the more fancied combinations such as Rosemary Connors on Barncaurra Maximus Meridius, Lyndsey O’Brien with Mr Shakespeare, Claire Connors on board last year’s winner, Rehy I Am Star, and Maria McNamara with the piebald Shanbally Tonto were down the line and there they remained.

With quite a lot on her plate following her husband Jack’s accident at home, Cheryl Cusack wasn’t too happy to hear that her saddle was uncomfortable but as she dropped out of contention, McMahon was promoted to second with Andrea McKee moving into fourth on Rachel Smyth’s subsequent sportsman champion, Vantage Point.

COBRA CRUIS

A side saddle winner at Tattersalls last month and second here on Sunday in his working hunter class, Gypsy Cobra Cruis is hard to fault. The seven-year-old chesnut, who was bred in Newport, Co Tipperary by Joe Allen, is out of the Cruising mare Gypsy Cruis who, in turn, was out of a Clover Hill mare. De Burgh received two trophies for her efforts.

On Sunday, it was McMahon and her mother Kate who left for home with the hamper of Lindt products, following the latest win in a Dublin ring for their home-bred Nautilus mare Inis Faith.

The 11-year-old chesnut was languishing down the line in Ring 1 following the go-around as the Balmoral winner Carnsdale Irish Times, who had landed the preceding show hunter pony championship, stood top. However, after all 15 qualifiers had done their individual show, Inis Faith was moved up to take the red.

The Robyn Catterall-partnered Carnsdale Irish Times just dropped down one to second while Annie Kavanagh, on her mother Mary’s Connemara gelding General Rossalough moved up a spot from fourth to third, swapping places with Maria McNamara and her father Tom’s cob, Shanbally The Real McCoy.

Possibly the most popular people at last week’s show were the girls in red who handed out Lindt Lindor chocolates to spectators.

I managed to say no on one occasion but made up for that ridiculous error when taking two the next time!