BRITAIN’s Aly Boswell and Fiona Cabrol started judging the Gallagher Dublin Horse Show working hunter pony classes at 8am last Saturday and many hours later drew a halt to their day in Ring 2 when awarding the championship to Little Dromin Phoenix, a winner also in 2024, while Kontiki, who went into Dublin as the reigning title holder, stood reserve.

Ridden as usual by Evie Kennedy for her mother Maeve, the 17-year-old Connemara gelding Little Dromin Phoenix (Lettermuckoo Lad - Ballindoon Dolan Sparrow, by Dolan Mick) first brought up a treble when topping the scores (104 points) in the 143cm class. Also progressing to the championship from this class was another well-known combination in Maggi Caffrey with her father Mark’s Connemara gelding Illaunurra Bay (101), a 15-year-old son of Castleside JJ Junior.

Penny Murphy’s 12-year-old gelding Kontiki (Killinick Bouncer - Glen Cross, by Holycross) once again made his way to the championship decider by winning the 158cm class on a score of 125 in the hands Charlotte Harding.

The latter had also been on board the Seamus Neville-bred grey when he was second in the older performance Irish Draught class here back in 2024.

Charlotte Harding and Kontiki won the 158cm working hunter at the Gallagher Dublin Horse Show \ 1st Class Images

Second place in Saturday’s class was filled by event rider David Kiely with his father Roger’s Irish Sport Horse mare SCS Ballycoskerry Cardento (116.5), an eight-year-old grey by HSF Cardento Royale, while Abigail Kenny finished third with her parents’ Hogan The Brave (107), the eight-year-old Silver Shadow gelding she had partnered to victory in the same ring on Wednesday in the older Connemara performance hunter championship.

On a total of 94.5 points, the more locally-based Charlotte Goor landed the intervening 153cm class riding her mother Fiona’s 10-year-old ISH mare Ardville Whispering Hope (KAH Clintender - Ardville Killycarn, by VDL Arkansas). Here, Lilymai Walsh finished second with Des Kent’s Chapel Hill Chino (83.5), an eight-year-old ISH gelding by Krafty Clover.

It was a quiet show by the usual standards of the Lyons Teehan family, but Nancy did her bit by winning Saturday’s 133cm class with her mother Louise’s Dartans Seoda Ban (99), who has no recorded pedigree. Just a six-year-old, the palomino mare did well to hold off two 19-year-old rivals, Jane Bolton’s bay mare Tilly B, who scored 84.5 under Chloe Macnaughton, and the palomino gelding Bowmount Rusty who amassed 83.5 points in the hands of owner Mary Caffrey’s daughter Nancy.

Connemaras come in all shapes and sizes and one of the smaller versions, Isabel Burke’s Drumlin Isobel (Hillside Joker - Doolin Breeze, by Ashfield Storm Cloud) ran out the winner of the starter stakes on a total of 86 points. Another six-year-old, the winner was partnered by Isabel Crews, who competes the grey mare with ShowJumping Ireland.

Polly Geraghty riding Clare Green’s 16-year-old grey gelding Horse and Jockey Clasper and Millie Dalton with her father Roland’s 22-year-old chesnut gelding Jubilee both completed on 84 points, Geraghty being placed second by virtue of her higher overall score in phases one and two (63 to 57).

With this great record at Dublin and having won at HOYS back in 2024, one would think that there is little more for Evie Kennedy and the Vera Griffin-bred Little Dromin Phoenix to prove - but there is. They are giving this weekend’s Irish Pony Society’s National Championships at Mullingar a miss but, next week, they are due to make their debuts at Clifden having qualified at Balmoral, and Barnadown, for Friday’s high performance class. It’s then off on a family holiday to the British Show Pony Society’s Summer Championships at Grantham.

There are no such definite plans for Kontiki, who could well spend the winter on the Dressage Ireland circuit, where owner Murphy will take over in the saddle from Harding.