OLYMPIC cross-country course designer Sue Benson, owner of the Tim Price-ridden CCI5*-L winner Falco, is one of three Britain-based judges for the young event horse classes at Dublin next week.

Benson will be joined by Brazilian international Ruy Fonseca, who rode the Pacino gelding Ballypatrick SRS at Kilguilkey last weekend, and Nick Gauntlett, a British Eventing master coach, to first access the four and five-year-olds in Ring Two on Wednesday afternoon and in the Main Arena the following morning.

Owner Richard Ames’s name will be announced frequently as the Eventing Ireland board member will be represented in the four-year-old class by Belline Jack The Lad, Belline Super Ted and Belline Kilbunny Harmony, who qualified under Robbie Kearns, and Belline Special Lady who booked her ticket in the hands of Caitie Slater.

John Bannon is due to ride the Kingdom gelding You And Me, one of two horses he qualified for the Dubarry Burghley young event horse final at the recent Tattersalls July Show, while Dominic Furnell will have a busy couple of days with three four-year-olds and two five-year-olds qualified for this section of the showing programme.

Ames owns the probable favourite in the older class, the Noel Dunne-ridden Kief Rhapsody who started off the season winning his Stepping Stones league and final and claimed the five-year-old performance horse class at Balmoral in May. This Sligo Candy Boy gelding also qualified for Burghley at Tattersalls last month.

Steven Smith, who won this class last August with CJO Kann Surprise, has qualified two geldings for this year’s renewal, Greenhall Gold Dust (by Dignified van’t Zorgvliet) and Carrickview Calvani (by Ramiro B). While the vast majority of the entries are registered as Irish Sport Horses, Nicola Ennis has qualified the Warmblood Society of Ireland-registered Tyson gelding CBI Joker for her sister Suzanne.

Two thoroughbred geldings are due to start on Wednesday afternoon, the first being Thistletown Delboy, an unraced Watar four-year-old owned and ridden by David Furlong. Chloe Fagan will be legged up on the five-year-old Gervada who she rides for Charlie Walshe. This Vadamos bay finished eighth of 13 in a three-year-old maiden hurdle at Ballinrobe in August 2021 on his only start for Ciaran Murphy.

The young event horse classes are being supported by Horse Sport Ireland and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Britain’s Kirsty Chabert, who won the CCI3*-S on Opposition Loire at Kilguilkey last weekend, will be one of three judging next week’s Junior/Young Rider event horse class.

Here, Caitie Slater rides two geldings for Richard Ames, JFH Golden Spear, who was second in the four-year-old young event horse class 12 months ago, and Belline Imperial Diamond. Elle Toner partners the Co Kilkenny yard’s third representative, Belline Foodys Out Of The Blue.

Godfrey Gibbons won this class last year on his mother Marie Dunne’s Milchem Miami. The Ballinasloe rider is due to line-out next week with Marie’s Kilnamac Kasu, who he qualified for the five-year-old young event horse class last August, and also rides Liam Lynskey’s DS Conn Boy.