THREE winners at the West Waterford point-to-point in Boulta on Sunday have obvious connections to the sport horse world.

First up, Access Granted won the five- and six-year-old geldings’ maiden in the colours of Ward Union joint-master and well-known show jumping sponsor Stephen O’Connor. The brown son of Presenting is trained by Ian Donoghue, a former huntsman with the Co Downs.

While Jane Mangan was on RTÉ duty at Fairyhouse, her parents Mary (owner) and Jimmy (trainer) were at Boulta where their Burning Ambition won the open. Mary was mentioned in these pages recently as the previous owner and rider of Galwaybay Blake who was sold into the USA by Kelley Hutchinson. The six-year-old Tolan R gelding completed on his dressage scores to win three CCI2* events this season under Caroline Martin, concluding in a long format competition at Lexington.

Burning Ambition, who is a 10-year-old gelding by Scorpion (dam sire of Access Granted), is out of the Flemensfirth mare Wyndham Miss Sally and, as her name would suggest, he was bred in Co Meath by Peter Byrne. Breeding of thoroughbreds at Laurel Lodge Stud is combined with breeding ponies with more Connemara blood having been introduced into Byrne’s stock in recent years.

Loss of Cracker Jack

Sadly, his pony stallion Wyndham Cracker Jack died three weeks ago. The home-bred son of Colbeach Soprano was aged 28 at the time while, in early January this year, the stud lost its great thoroughbred matriarch Deep Inagh, Burning Ambition’s grandam, who had just turned 35.

Finally, show jumper Emily Cody recorded her first point-to-point success on her fourth attempt when landing the winners of one on Exit Eleven who is trained by her mother Debbie for Mullinavat owner/breeder Joseph Walsh.

Twenty-year-old Emily, who competes on the Dondoctro Ryal K gelding Moonashuna Ezra, currently spends her weekdays in Dublin as she has started studying veterinary medicine at UCD. She keeps herself fit by cycling 24 kilometres a day between the Belfield campus and her digs in Killiney.

On Sunday, Emily was supported by Debbie, her father Pat and sister Claire (eight). Her brother Paddy (16), who received special praise when the Codys featured in last season’s series of Ireland’s Fittest Family, was an absentee as it was his Sunday on at Joseph O’Brien’s Piltown yard.

Under her maiden name Owens, Debbie used to ride for Joseph’s aunt, Frances Crowley (now Smullen).