THE Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) again showcased plenty of Irish talent and it perhaps came as no surprise that at the end of a packed week, the Barberstown Castle supreme horse and Supreme Products supreme pony titles went to Irish bred exhibits as Will Morton and Kilcarna Brilliant and Izzy Hartswood-Collier riding Beech Hall Ryan produced brilliant freestyle shows to take those coveted titles.

As last man out of seven contesting the supreme, Will and Kilcarna Brilliant (Chubbs) scored 29/30 marks from judges Pearl Underwood, Alison Ledingham and Tony Whipps.

Will and Chubbs had taken the hunter title the hard way, as having first topped their lightweight class, they went forward to the international arena championship where the top weights are ridden by each judge.

Bred by Christopher Whelan in Galway, Chubbs was bought by Dessie Gibson from the Cavan Sales and he was later sold to Jill Day. The Brilliant Lad eight-year-old was originally brought out by Day’s producer Robert Walker as a small hunter and as an intermediate for Walker’s son Sam.

Present owner Sarah-Ann Gunn went to view three horses at Walker’s Cheshire yard three years ago and settled on Chubbs just by seeing his head over the door.

“My intention was to ride him myself as a lightweight, but due to moving and other commitments, I sent him to Will to produce,” said Sarah.

Coincidentally, Robert Walker took second place in the lightweight class riding the Sinead Brennan-bred Quidam Junior eight-year-old MHS Morning Master.

Walker returned to head the middleweight division with Jill Day’s son of Island Commander, Greenhall Treasure Island, a seven-year-old bred by Derry Rothwell.

Jayne Ross topped the heavyweights with Rose Bailey’s eventual reserve Twinshock Warrior (Ricardo Z) bred by Brendan Corcoran, with Alice Homer taking second place riding Liz Prowting’s son of OBOS Quality Bloomfield Distinction, a six-year-old bred by Jim Seymour.

The Prowting/Homer team were successful in the ladies’ class, Alice heading a strong line-up with the Watermill Swatch nine-year-old Bloomfield Eloquence, bred by Michael Kavanagh.

The small hunter champion at The Longines Royal International Horse Show was Briarhill Buddy Bolden (ISH) and Meg Edmondson \ Elli Birch/Bootsandhooves

Supreme pony

Supreme pony Beech Hall Ryan (28/30) produced a brilliant jumping round and supreme gallop to head his 143cm class before taking the working hunter pony tricolour.

Owner Claire Collier (Izzy’s aunty) bought the 16-year-old bred by Ina Hanna three years ago. The son of Rathcoona Holiday Boy also stood champion worker here in 2016 for former rider Zara Weir whose family had originally bought Ryan through a tip-off from Gillian Creighton.

“The track wasn’t over-big, but there were a few technical lines,” said Izzy, who executed a brilliant serpentine in her supreme championship show and is this week representing the England working hunter team in Scotland.

Standing reserve working hunter pony was the second placed 143cm pony Star Smokey ridden by Florrie Duncalfe. Irish bred but with no breeding recorded, Smokey won this championship on his last appearance here in 2019 before going eventing up two-star for the past two seasons.

Also producing a brilliant jumping round and gallop to take the open working hunter championship was Craig Kiddier riding the heavyweight winner, Mulberry Lane.

Owner Sue Tennant bought the OBOS Quality eight-year-old direct from his breeder Brian Clinghan at Dublin five years ago. After being backed in Ireland, Mulberry Lane went to producer Kiddier who has ridden him throughout.

In the final supreme championship, Kiddier produced a superb freestyle show and as a hunting horn sounded, Kiddier finished off waving and cracking his hunting whip over his head, while his mount, who hunts with the South Notts stood stock still.

The pair finished just one mark (28/30) behind Will and Kilcarna Brilliant to take the reserve.

Mulberry Lane (SIH), ridden by Craig Kiddier, winner of the supreme working hunter championship at The Longines Royal International Horse Show \ Elli Birch/Bootsandhooves

Buddy Bolden double

One win is difficult enough to achieve here, but Meg Edmondson’s Briarhill Buddy Bolden, produced by Team Helliwell, clinched two wins and a championship. Following a win in the small hunter class for his owner, the seven-year-old swapped rings and rider to take the intermediate championship courtesy of a win in the hunter division for Harriet Dennison.

Breeder Anne Coyne still owns the sire Kings Cornet and dam Durida and was delighted to see Buddy stand intermediate champion at HOYS last October.

A good spot and purchase from Anne three years ago by Scottish producers Russell Skelton and James Munro, Buddy was initially bought as last horse through Goresbridge Sales as a three-year-old.

Irish sales produced another champion in the prolific winning pony Laburnum Richard, who topped his exceeding 143cm section before going on to take the native working hunter tricolour for owner Amy Smith. Bred by Thomas Folan in Connemara, by the late stallion Rynn Richard, Amy bought her now youthful 16-year-old from Clifden Sales 13-years ago.

Having won the show hunter pony championship for the past two years, Zara Brookes and Merrycorner Mister Bui (Buttons) made it a third consecutive tricolour after heading their exceeding 143cm class. As this was Zara’s last show hunter pony ride before moving up to senior ranks, the pressure was on. “To win for a third time on our final ride here is amazing,” said Zara.

Bred by Louise Duffy by Templebready Fear Bui, Buttons was a good winner in Ireland before featuring as a major player on British soil. The traditionally bred gelding was originally brought out by PJ Casey as a small hunter, the pair winning at RDS in 2016 and he won this same hunter pony title here at Hickstead for his previous rider Harriet Dennison in 2018.

Irish cobs

There was a strong representation of Irish cobs forward in all three divisions and it was the lightweight winner Copenhagen who took the tricolour for his rider and producer Simon Reynolds.

The 10-year-old grey gelding, who featured well in the final supreme championship scoring 24/30 was bought from Reid Finlay, who originally found him in Galway as a three-year-old.

After growing and maturing on good grass, Harriet Richardson bought Copenhagen who took the cob in-hand championship at the British Show Horse Association Championships.

He was then backed and sold to his current owner Rowena Stevenson. “I always thought he would be a proper one,” commented Reid Finlay.

Irish horses also faired well in the amateur ranks, Hayley Erner taking the cob championship with Hortons Cut Above. Bred in Co Meath by Colin Doyle, the upstanding grey eight-year-old is a pure-bred Irish Draught by Windgap Blue.

Julie Marchant bought him as a two-year-old and eventually sold him to Mikayla Costello who was intending to prepare him for RDS. However, scrolling through social media in an airport lounge, Hayley saw him and persuaded Mikayla to part with him prematurely in 2019.

Heading a strong amateur heavyweight hunter line-up was the James Hoare-bred eight-year-old Dowdstown Purple (Quinn) by Crosstown Dancer out of a former RDS winning mare Dowdstown Jane.

Owner Jono Fryer had often been up against the upstanding grey before he managed to buy Quinn from his previous owner Jane Collins last year.

Among the winners in the last classes of the week were Jill Wormall who won the working show horse class riding Ballymurphy Alice.

Bred by James Doyle, the 11-year-old mare is by Cougar out of Ballymurphy Clover Nellie.

The final honours went to the diminutive partnership of Elsie Lynch and Noble Peppermint the prolific winning partnership again putting in a good jumping round to win the nursery stakes.