LAST Saturday’s opening session of the two-day Flavours of Fingal Show at Newbridge House, Donabate staged the final three qualifiers for the intermediate side saddle, the ladies side saddle and the racehorse to riding horse championships at next month’s Dublin Horse Show.

The best-filled class was that for ex-racehorses as 19 thoroughbreds appeared in the afternoon before conformation judge Shane McKenna and ride judges Alice Copithorne and Conor Higgins. Disappointingly for their connections, five horses left the ring shortly after the start of the class, as they didn’t settle in the large grass arena, while one other did so when not going forward, away from the line-up, under Higgins.

With just a single golden ticket on offer there was only ever going to be one rider pleased with the judges’ selection as winner and, in this case, it was Co Louth’s Ruth Cody who topped the final line-up with Smokey Bay. This 14-year-old Definite Article gelding, who has enjoyed a successful career in the show ring, only ran once when finishing ninth of 10 in a Gowran bumper in March 2014.

Out of the Zaffaran mare Eyebright, Smokey Bay is a half-brother to three winners on the track and two in point-to-points. The youngest of these is the Beat Hollow gelding Ballyhack who won a six-year-old maiden at Loughanmore in April on the third of four starts between the flags. The bay was trained for her husband Alan by Caroline McCaldin (nee Dennison) who was mentioned in these columns recently as one-time owner of the Luhmühlen CCI4*-S fifth, Black Ice.

Down from Ballyclare, Alison Matthews finished second with the 16-year-old Brian Boru gelding Tadhg, who won twice over hurdles in the 2010/11 National Hunt season for the Edward O’Grady yard, while also disappointed not to win one of the invitational classes was north Co Dublin’s Nicole Groyer with the AIRC Festival winner, Vartano, an eight-year-old brown gelding by Rock Of Gibraltar.

Rafter takes the win

Joanne Quirke, a multiple winner of the Dublin racehorse to riding horse championship, was conformation judge for the side saddle qualifiers with Emily MacMahon fulfilling her duties as ride judge in the ladies’ class despite “having done a tendon”.

There were just four combinations forward for the intermediate side saddle qualifier where the delighted winner was Jessica O’Brien and My Fair Lady who had finished fourth when bidding to qualify at Charleville last month. From Co Wicklow, O’Brien and the now 10-year-old chesnut mare competed in the intermediate championship at Dublin in 2017 when they also contested the small hunter class for four and five-year-olds.

The judges had a tougher task in the ladies side saddle qualifier where they were faced with nine combinations although one left the arena before the gallop.

Their winner was another partnership who will be making a return visit to the RDS, Rebecca Rafter and Roanwood Mick Dundee who were fourth when the Dublin Horse Show was last staged in 2019. A real eyeful of a horse, who is hunted all season with the Dublin and Meath Farmers by his owner, Rafter’s father Pat, the 15-year-old Tjipke gelding was bred in Co Tipperary by John O’Sullivan out of the Coevers Diamond Boy mare Roanwood Golden Lass.

From The Naul in north Co Dublin, Rafter, who works for Balrath racehorse trainer Gavin Cromwell, was out of the saddle for some time this spring having broken her wrist in February. On Saturday, she also finished third in the riding horse class on her four-year-old home-bred Cobra 18 mare, PMR Cobras Diamond.

Second in the ladies’ side saddle qualifier was Katie Crozier and Mountview Silver Fox (winner of the afternoon’s Irish Draught class) while Ciara Dennigan qualified in third with Paula and Frank Cullen’s six-year-old Gortfree Lakeside Lad mare, Ballymac Holly Mae.

Quirke and MacMahon rounded off their judging duties for the day in the side saddle championship where the tricolour sash was presented to Rafter on Roanwood Mick Dundee with Jessica O’Brien standing reserve on My Fair Lady.