WHILE many of the riders who have qualified Irish Draughts and Connemaras for the breed performance championships at the Dublin Horse Show have competed there in the past, there are some who will be making their debuts in the Ballsbridge showgrounds next month including Michael Butler who booked a ticket at Scarteen last Saturday.

The 27-year-old, who lives about 10 miles from the Ryan family’s famed venue but, importantly on the Limerick side of the county boundary, led throughout Section A of the four- and five-year-old Irish Draught class on the sole qualifier from this division, Heigh Ho Jacko (238),) who finished three points clear of his nearest rival, the Amy Grady-ridden Murrisk Lad.

“I have only ever groomed for people in Dublin so this will be my first time riding and I’m absolutely delighted as it has always been a dream of mine,” said Butler who augments his living from working with the family horses by giving maths grinds. “‘Ross’ belongs to my grandfather Michael O’Riordan and he, too, is delighted that the horse qualified on Saturday. We are a small, family-run yard doing young horses, eventers and hunters and it’s a privilege to get one of our horses to Dublin.

“My grandfather bought him off Tom Herlihy in Rosscarbery as a two-year-old. He was bred out of a Heigh Ho Dubh mare (Ballylickey Princess) by Tom’s father-in law, Kieran Lynch, who gave Ross to his daughter as a wedding present. He was broken in the spring and let off to develop. We have always thought a lot of him but didn’t expect him to develop and mature so quickly. He has competed successfully at a few training shows and done a Try Event. Hopefully, I’ll take him to a few summer shows to get him used to the crowds and atmosphere and then, after Dublin, I’ll probably run him in an event or two.”

It was a great weekend for Butler, who rarely events outside the Munster Region, as he followed up Saturday’s success by travelling to Dublin with friends to watch Limerick bring up their hat trick in the all-Ireland hurling final. “We didn’t have tickets for the match but decided that we wanted to be up in Dublin for the occasion!” said Butler, who hasn’t picked up a hurl since he left school. “It was a great day to be a Limerick supporter!”

Solon books RDS ticket

Kate Solon is also better known as an event rider but she too will be heading to Dublin with a Draught having won Section B on Jimmy Quinn’s home-bred stallion, Cappa Capone (237.5), a five-year-old by Cappa Cassanova out of Cappa Jewel, by Coolcronan Wood. Here, Corena Bowe also qualified in second with her father J.J.’s four-year-old Cappa Amadeus gelding, Sherry (237).

“This was a real catch ride as Jimmy only rang me about six weeks ago and I have the horse just about four weeks,” said Kildare-born Solon, who is now living in Windgap and is a lecturer at Kildalton College. “He was very green at first and I thought it was too much to ask to get to Dublin but he just gets better and better with every outing and has sold the breed to me!

“I took him to a local training show and then to a Try Event at Ballinamona where he did a very good dressage and jumped a double clear. We did the qualifier at Tullylish where we had a couple of fences down but I was pleased overall with his performance. Typically, Jimmy was at Tullylish but was away on business last weekend. However, I kept him informed by phone and he was thrilled to learn that we had both qualified and won.

“Cappa Capone has an unbelievable temperament and is so gentle and genuine. I do everything on my own and he is an absolute gentleman of a horse. This has been a good couple of weeks for me as I recently passed my BHSI exam.”

There was a divide at the top of the leaderboard in Section A of the older ID class on 236.5 points between two stallions, the previously qualified Moylough Bouncer grey DS Ballagh Bouncer, ridden by Hannah Gordon for Liam Lynskey, and Dennistown Prince Of Pride who qualified under his Co Wexford owner/rider, Katie Stafford.

Dennistown Prince Of Pride, who has a small number of first-crop two-year-olds, is a chesnut son of Crosstown Pride. The six-year-old was bred in Co Wicklow by Andrew Waldron out of Ballylusk Sunday Dawn (by Golden Trump). Last year, Stafford and Dennistown Prince Of Pride qualified for the final of this championship (then held at Lambertstown) where they finished fourth.

Two horses qualified out of the 10-runner Section B, viz the winner, Ballymac Holly Mae (229.5), a six-year-old Gortfree Lakeside Lad mare ridden for leading event horse breeders Paula and Frank Cullen by Ciara Dennigan, and Eugene O’Doherty’s owner-ridden The Solar Flare (229), an 11-year-old grey Crannagh Hero gelding who has 150 Show Jumping Ireland points.