IT’S always interesting, while waiting for a championship result, to look at the names engraved on a show’s range of silverware. Some exhibitors are still on the show scene every weekend; others are gone, while the four-legged prize winners are sometimes a mix of still going-strong campaigners or ‘Where are they now?’ puzzles.

For the Connell family from Mullingar, to finally add their name to the Frank Kilkenny Memorial Cup presented for the hunter champion at Longford Show, was a long-coveted ambition and one that was finally achieved last Sunday.