ON Saturday evening, 12 combinations lined out to contest the highly anticipated National Amateur Championship in the Simmonscourt Arena. Sadly, the amateurs no longer get their moment to compete in the Main Arena, but that didn’t matter to Co Galway’s Niamh Quinn who claimed victory with Clonguish Vivaro.

Owned by Cian Goggins and bred by Bernard and Josephine Jordan, the 15-year-old gelding is by Vivaldo Van Het Costerveld out of Clonguish Gold (Tanaos). Quinn went in as a hot favourite, having booked her ticket in Galway. She works full-time with horses as a groom for her brother-in-law, Mayo show jumper Shane Goggins and thus also had two other young horses to look after at the show.