THERE are few sections at the Gallagher Dublin Horse Show for which you no longer have to qualify, but one is the Southside Contract and Carpet Cleaners show hunter pony division which was judged by Britain’s Gillian Simpson and Fiona Cabrol in Ring 2 last Sunday.

While the catalogue would have one think that the opening class at 8am would be the starter stakes, it was, as usual, the 158cm class and it was here that the judges found their champion, Griffinstown, who is ridden for Co Kildare’s Aoife O’Connor by her daughter Sadhbh.

The seven-year-old Imperial Tiger gelding, who is out of the Allys Bridge mare Ducharraig, was bred in Co Wicklow by Jill Casey whose daughter Mary-Ann competed the bay here as a small hunter in 2024, just days before Sadhbh won the same show hunter pony class with him. The bay returned to the RDS showgrounds last August in the O’Connors’ ownership when he repeated his victory in the class and stood reserve champion.

This year, prior to Dublin, Griffinstown’s main successes were in the supreme championship at the Show of The East and at the Irish Pony Society’s Spring Championships. On his only attempt, he qualified for the Agria Royal International Horse Show in Hickstead, where he finished fifth in the Intermediate show hunter pony championship.

Winner earlier in the week of the ridden Connemara championship on her mother’s Teach Mór Sparrow, O’Connor had no rides bar this one on Sunday, so had to wait some time for the championship where she and ‘Griffy’ claimed the title, ahead of the 153cm class winner Bombay Regal Prince.

Ridden for Co Offaly owner Brendan Lawlor by his daughter Kate, this British-bred gelding is by Rachan Westcountry Too out of the Willowcroft Regal Bronze mare Stanley Grange Regal Reflection. Among their victories this season, Lawlor and the black 10-year-old were crowned supreme pony champions at Killusty last month.

Also through to the championship as class winners were the Keith Moran-owned, Ella Moran-ridden Tandridge Debutane, who topped the final line-up in the 143cm class. The Joanna Adams-bred nine-year-old mare is a daughter of Tandridge Democrat out of Rotherwood Senorita, by Strinesdale Matador.

As is ever the case these days in all disciplines, the 133cm class attracted the smallest entry of 10, but that would have mattered little to Esther Lowry who claimed the honours on board her mother Heather’s Annadale Prince Charming (Moelview Celebration - Akadame Popcorn, by Millcroft Spindrift).

Twelve-year-old Esther and the year-older gelding won this class in 2024 but, due to the anticipated arrival of the rider’s baby sister, they had to miss last year’s renewal. Annadale Prince Charming is produced for the Lowrys by Rachel Moore Rooney and, as she is judging at the Horse of The Year show this season, they didn’t do any HOYS qualifiers with the chesnut but will travel over to spectate.

Riding for her father Trevor, Emily Palmer won the starter stakes on board the 11-year-old bay gelding Creganna Lorenzo, who is listed on the Irish Horse Register but has no recorded breeding.