THE late Harold McGahern would most likely have approved of the new championship for junior and young event riders at the Dublin Horse Show for which the first qualifier was held at Scarteen on Wednesday.

The new competition is more akin to the four and five-year-old Young Eventhorse Series classes than any previous version, starting with a ridden display. However, there is no conformation phase and the suitability and potential marks are judged as part of the jumping phase. It is confined to horses aged five to seven.