“HE’s unbelievable, an absolute legend!” is how rider Linda Murphy described Seán Barker’s 10-year-old Irish Draught stallion Gortfree Lakeside Lad following the grey’s victory in Sunday’s working hunter championship at the Dublin Horse Show.

“Freddie is a real performer and has a great brain,” continued Murphy who was riding the horse for just the fifth time this year as he is produced in Gowran by Brian Murphy and Sam Cushe who had a very successful show. “He has an amazing temperament and wants to work. He enjoys jumping and really comes alive when he gets into the ring at Dublin.

“The track rode nicely, was well-presented and the distances came up well but I don’t think it was as difficult as in 2019. We’ll probably do some show jumping now before heading back to the Horse of the Year Show in October.”

Gifted

“She’s a gifted rider,” is how the Co Mayo owner/breeder described Murphy. “She gets up on that fellow there like he’s a Connemara Pony and she rides him like he’s a Connemara Pony. That’s the fourth year they have been to Dublin and that’s the fourth year they have won their class and championship; they are a credit to one another.”

The powerful Gortfree Lakeside Lad, a 10-year-old by Barker’s Gortfree Hero out of the Ginger Dick mare Springvale Rose, progressed to the championship by first repeating his success in the 2019 heavyweight class.

The reserve champion, Queens Master, who was ridden by occupational therapist Katie Byrne for her mother Anne, is a different type altogether being a winner in 2017 of the riding horse championship. This now nine-year-old Kings Master mare, who was bred by former jockey Trevor Horgan out of the bumper winner Golden Fantasy (by Shernazar), won the opener in Ring 2 on Sunday morning, a new class for traditionally bred five-year-olds and upwards.

Eight of the 20 entries were by Irish Draught stallions, seven by thoroughbreds, four by traditionally bred stallions and one by an Irish Sport Horse-registered sire.

The working hunters were judged by Matthew Ainsworth (ride) and Jack Cochrane whose other winners were J.J. Bowe’s Dunsandle Diamond gelding Moylough Vision who landed the four-year-old class under Alice Griffin; Rachel Moore’s owner-ridden 2016 Mermus R gelding Ballymacbrennan Merdios in the five and six-year-old lightweight class; and Dukes Endeavor who claimed the older lightweight class under Dominic Furnell, owner of the eight-year-old KEC Maximum Joe gelding in partnership with breeder Niamh McNamara.

The knowledgeable ringside crowd – and others – were somewhat surprised to see one of the five horses recalled in the four-year-old class being awarded a score of one for ride while the others received marks ranging from 14 to 18. In common with some other sections of this year’s Dublin Horse Show, the prize-fund for the popular working hunter division was supported by Horse Sport Ireland.