IT’s hard to know who was the more excited – exuberant Ballynahinch producer Davy Lyons, who showed Tullabeg Hello to win the youngstock championship at last week’s Balmoral Show, or the bay filly’s owner, Paula Howard.

As friends kept coming up to congratulate Howard following the three-year-old’s victory in the P&O Arena on the opening day of the show, I waited until this Tuesday to contact the Co Kildare showing enthusiast. There were no distractions at this stage, but no drop in euphoria either.

“My feet haven’t touched the ground since!” said Howard, who was winning Balmoral’s youngstock title for the first time. “I was looking for a nice lightweight filly last year, when Davy suggested I buy ‘Patsy’, who he had purchased as a yearling from her breeder, Nicholas Cousins.

“The filly was fourth here last May on her only outing and I was hoping she would get into the first three this time around. I was absolutely thrilled when she first won her class, then the three-year-old championship and the fillies’ championship. I can tell you I was staggered when she won the supreme!

“Patsy may go to one local show before Dublin, but that is her main target and I intend holding on to her to breed from in the future. Davy and his wife Gillian, who is always in the background and is just wonderful with mares, deserve great credit for this success. Davy found the filly, produced her slowly and showed her to perfection.”

Nick Cousins, who bred the Balmoral champion at his Tullabeg Stud outside Camolin, where he stands the filly’s sire Hiello (by Plot Blue), has his own philosophy about showing horses. “The only people I show horses to are prospective buyers!” said the Co Wexford stallion master.

It would have been good to have been a fly on the wall when Cousins and Lyons negotiated their deal over the filly, who is out of the Nigrasine mare Tullabeg Penny. “Davy came down three times to buy her!” stated Cousins. “The dam has had three foals by (Tullabeg) Fusion and, to date, four by Hiello, who stamps his stock well with looks, jump and movement. The oldest Hiello out of Penny is a four-year-old I sold to Terence White. He’s a big horse and Terence is bringing him on slowly.”

Judges Henrietta Knight and Angus McDonald took a long time in reaching their decision in the supreme.

Reserve

The reserve sash was finally presented to the reserve champion filly, Cloughroe Forget Me Not, whose Ballybofey owner/breeder Valerie Davis enjoyed a very successful show. Winner of her yearling fillies’ class and the Sir Milne Barbour Cup for champion home-bred exhibit, this traditionally-bred dark bay daughter of Lucarelli is out of the Colin Diamond mare Solsboro Cecily.

The champion yearling was Dessie Gibson’s KS Campari, a grey ISH gelding by Corporal VDL, who was bred in Co Monaghan by Katharina Suhl out of Lulu Vingino S (by Levisonn), while the champion two-year-old was Tiernan Gill’s ISH filly Frenchfort Kildysart Lady. Bred in Co Clare by Gerard Grace, this bay by Chelis HC Z is out of Rusheen Lux (by Lux Z).