CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS:THE EMPHASIS was on young horses yesterday, in hand and under saddle, with the Anthony Maude cup for champion three-year-old being presented to Enniscorthy exhibitors John and Julia Crosbie, whose Mr Kingsley had earlier won the medium-heavyweight geldings class.
The dark brown champion was bred in Co Carlow by Seadna O’Neill and is by the Irish Horse Sport stallion Kings Master out of The Grange Woman, by Edmund Burke. Co Down-based David Lyons showed the reserve champion, Ronnie McCombe’s My Lisnagade, a filly by the thoroughbred stallion Emperor Augustus.
Out of a Big Sink Hope mare, the bay was bred outside Banbridge by John Donaghy who, along with his son Graeme, won the medium/heavyweight two-year-old geldings class with One Day Soon, a chestnut by Power Blade who was shown by Sam McCormick. In the two-year-old championship, the honours went to Co Clare’s Michael O’Callaghan, whose unnamed bay won the lightweight geldings’ section.
The gelding is by the Hannovarian stallion Lux Z out of the Dock Leaf mare Skehanas Linda and was bred near Templemore by Kieran Broderick. The reserve sash went to Hurst Show Horses’ home-bred Tattygare Good To Go.
In the RKD Architects five-year-old class, the winner, as anticipated, was the S Creevagh Ferro grey gelding Fly Away Ferro, owned and ridden by his Newtownards breeder Emma Jackson.
Co Armagh rider Trevor Smith was not so fortunate as he broke a leg when his mount Van Gough fell at the first of the half-moon reed fences in the four-year-old class.
Two riders escaped without injury following tumbles in the small event horse class, won by Kieran Connors’s seven-year-old Templebready Fear Bui gelding Millridge Buachaill Bui, who was ridden by Shannon Nelson.