THE McGahern family hosted the final qualifier for the Dublin Horse Show Connemara and Irish Draught performance championships at Rincoola last Saturday when there was elation for some and frustration for others at the end of the four-leg series.

While it’s great to see the Irish Draught horse becoming ever more popular with a variety of owners, especially in performance classes, it’s also heartening to see those who have supported the breed over the years being awarded for their unwavering commitment.

When it comes to Northern Ireland, Crumlin-based Nigel and Charlotte Moore stand out as breeders of quality Draughts and they will be heading to the Ballsbridge showgrounds with Tullys Cherry, the only horse to qualify out of Section B of the six-year-old and upwards class on Saturday. Ridden by Sammy Weston, the 2016 daughter of Skip And Sea completed on a total of 235.5 points, which left her well clear of the previously qualified LCS Time To Shine who finished second on 224.5.

Tullys Cherry is out of the Crosstown Dancer mare Tullys Valley who has mainly been bred to ID stallions and is dam also of the Creevagh Grey Rebel mare Tullys Sasha who was second in her performance championship at Dublin and won an ID gold merit award for eventing. Tullys Valley and her dam, Tullys Triumph, were winners of the all-Ireland ID filly championship and both won the ID broodmare class at Balmoral. Tullys Cherry’s great grandam, Silver Dawn, was the winner of the first ID broodmare class at the RUAS flagship show in 1979 and was champion broodmare at the first National Irish Draught Breed Show at Suma Stud in 1985.

There were two qualifiers out of Section A, the first being the Eponastables Uibh Fhaili gelding Eponastables Legaun Prince (230.5) whose Co Meath owner/rider Marie Helene Finnegan is a regular competitor in the finals. Co Kerry-based Trevor Palmer was rewarded for his many miles on the road by qualifying in second place on his own six-year-old Gortfree Hero gelding Clonbanan Gortfree (229).

Craughwell’s Maria McNamara won the older ID performance championship at Dublin five years ago on Shanbally Blazer and bids to claim the younger title next month with the 2017 grey gelding Shanbally Catchphrase, the only qualifier out of Section A of the four- and five-year-old division on Saturday.

The tickets in Section B went to the five-year-old Rosheen Yeats mare Ballycoolan Surprise (238), who was ridden by Sara Hakala for Patricia Shortt, and the similarly aged Lansdown mare Assagart Hope And Glory (235) who was ridden for Co Wexford owner/breeder Mary Margaret Roche by Diarmuid Ryan.

AS has become the norm, the APCOA-sponsored performance Irish Draught championships will get the action under way in Ring 2 at the Dublin on Wednesday, August 17th.