A PHOTOGRAPH of a young Eddie Macken and his pony, held by the late Harry Farrelly of Longford Greyhound Track, at the town’s agricultural show in 1960 is a gem within its 120-year-old history.

Running alongside nostalgia is the need to keep shows viable. Longford is certainly thriving with an extra field needed for car parking by early afternoon as the crowds arrived.

Keeping its admission rate at €10 per adult, with free admission for children, paid off in droves and thankfully, like West Clare on the previous day, the weather remained dry.

“The Child of Pragues [statues] were out!” Bernie Whyte, another secretary cut from the same ‘Can do’ mould, remarked.

Alicia Devlin Byrne was busy over the past two weekends, between the RDS qualifier at Forth Mountain, Charleville and Flavours of Fingal. Longford last Sunday was hers and dad Bernard’s next stop.

“It’s a lovely show with a great atmosphere and good rings. It’s busy around the rings so gives the horses good experience before Dublin,” she said, explaining why Longford is in their show diary.

The Wicklow schoolteacher had even more reason to like the show by Sunday evening after winning both the ridden and working hunter titles.

Chesterfield King Curtis, the Kings Master bay she qualified on for the Dublin ladies side-saddle at Charleville the previous Sunday, delivered the first championship.

“He’ll do the lightweights and the sidesaddle at Dublin,” said Alicia after winning both these classes at Longford.

“His owners and breeders Michael and Mary Kelly were neighbours of ours years ago. Last year he asked us to see if the horse would be any good for the showring, as he wasn’t really being used and hadn’t competed.”

The quality bay, out of Swift Miss Curtis (Swift Trooper) believed to be a relative of Oliver Townend’s 2009 Badminton winner Flint Curtis, has made up for lost time since.

Standing reserve in the ridden hunter championship was another busy campaigner, Grace Maxwell Murphy’s Gleann Rua Da Vinci (Camillo VDL).

Rosaleen Barry and Sabrina Harty had an excellent recruit in steward David Donohoe, who pitched in to help ahead of instructing at this week’s Longford Pony Club camp. “His first year stewarding but won’t be his last, I hope!” Bernie predicted.

Judge Philip Morgan with his Connemara champion, Thomasina O’Reilly’s Rosscon Camille \ Susan Finnerty

A double

The second part of Alicia’s double was with The Kings Silver in the new Frank Kilkenny working hunter memorial championship. This was sponsored by family members, including his grandson, Jordan, the now USA-based show jumping rider.

The late stallion master and noted producer stood such 1980s household names as Impeder and Nelgonde, plus Limekiln Lilly, a three-times lightweight hunter mare winner at Dublin (1954, 1958 and 1961).

“I found him in the first lockdown. He’s by WRS Elvis out of a Fast Silver mare and just missed out qualifying for Dublin last week, finishing second in his section.”

Puissance has been a good sire to the Whyte family as the reserve to Alicia and The Kings Silver was Christopher Whyte from Ballymore with the Puissance-sired Ladycraft.

In the working hunter pony championship, also judged by Victoria Teuton and Grainne Moore, it was a family double. Cousins Gemma Whyte and her cousin Jenny Quinn, members of the Westmeath and Longford Pony Club branches, took the championship and reserve with Shane’s Lad and Pebbles respectively. Both girls can be seen regularly hunting with the Longford Harriers during the winter months and the same pack put on a display at Sunday’s show.

Katelynn Kilkenny presents the Frank Kilkenny memorial cup to Gemma Whyte and Shane’s Lad, the working hunter pony champion \ Susan Finnerty

Native breeds

Fresh from her good day at the North East Show last Saturday, Thomasina O’Reilly won the Connemara championship with her much-loved Rosscon Camille, repeating the pair’s win here at the previous show in 2019. Philip Morgan’s reserve Connemara champion was David Walpole’s yearling filly Cornaval Luna (Glenmore Mirah Patrick).

In the other native breed championship for Irish Draughts, it was the tricolour for Dominic Cassidy’s The Farmers Lady.

“I bought her as a foal off Michael Roddy in Ballaghadereen at Cavan’s November Sales in 2018. She’s by Tors Gentleman Farmer out of a Castana dam. We then covered her at a four-year-old to Eddie Murphy’s stallion Inisfree The Holy Grail, she had a foal last year and is back in foal to him again,” said her Swinford owner.

“One of her many firsts as a two-year-old was at Longford Show and it was nice to go back today to win champion mare of the show. We turn out our own horses, it’s a team effort from myself, my wife and family every weekend.”

It is just as much a family effort for the Creggs from Elphin. “We’re a large family - 12 kids - and our journey with the Irish Draughts started when our father Frank and my sister Olivia, along with the help of our good neighbour, judge and Draught man, the late Cyril McDermott, bought our first Irish Draught mare Montique (Corran King x Mountain View) as a yearling in 1995 off breeder John Meehan from Sligo,” said Steph Cregg.

“That’s how our love for the Irish Draught started, I think we’ll always have an Irish Draught around our house!”

One of this retained line was the Carrickrock Close Shave mare Montiques Carrickrock, one of a half-dozen Draught mares owned her Steph’s siblings, Damien and Gillian.

Damien’s yearling filly Gortfree Montique (Gortfree Lakeside Lad) was Deirdre McGuckian and Jimmy Canavan’s Irish Draught reserve champion choice.

Dominic Cassidy brings home the silverware to Swinford after his The Farmers Lady and her Inishfree The Holy Grail foal won at Longford \ Susan Finnerty

Youngstock

The same judges had lightly supported broodmare and youngstock classes to judge. They found their young horse champion in Hurst Show Team’s Arkan two-year-old filly Tattygare Me Me Me, winner of the same title at the recent Showing Show of the Year at Mullingar.

Their reserve champion was James McWeeney’s Longstone Emir (Elusive Emir) with this three-year-old also winning the traditionally bred championship on offer.

A weekend of Olympic stories and household names at both shows with a wealth of equestrian history in their hinterland.

A good winter fundraiser for Longford and West Clare committees are what the Aussies dub ‘yarns nights’, featuring anecdotes and discussions about local legends, past and living.