SHOW CLASSES:CO GALWAY rider Padraig Flanagan achieved a notable double yesterday when landing both sections of the Connemara performance hunter championship on two grey stallions produced by Pascal Crawford.
The classes attracted large crowds to Ring Two where the flat work stage had a major influence on the overall result and the well-presented jumping track required strong, forward-going riding.
Flanagan first won the younger ponies’ section on Young Walt, Bertie O’Halloran’s home-bred Castlestrange Fionn seven-year-old, who has plenty of show jumping points to his credit. So too does Cashel Bay Prince, which was a comfortable winner of the class for eight to 15-year-old ponies.
This nine-year-old, by I Love You Melody, was bred by his owner Robbie Fallon at the Cashel Bay Stud outside Athenry.
Earlier in the morning, Cian Geoghegan’s seven-year-old grey mare Coosheen Lisa held off the challenge of Merryn Huntley-Jones’s Moy Hazy Cove stallion, Killacloran, to claim the honours in the led classes.
In Ring One, the morning’s action started with the riding horses and here Michaela Butler’s 13-year-old gelding Corrileas Imp, by Master Imp, regained the title which he won here in 2008.
Taking the reserve ribbon was PJ and Sonia Casey’s dark bay Sand Hill gelding Terrierman which put up a good performance for a four-year-old.
The pair finished first and second in the first section of the large riding horse class.
Co Laois owner and rider Michael Comerford was delighted with his win in the cob championship on lightweight class winner Merrick, a four-year-old Corna Blu gelding he bred himself out of the Hazel Brook mare, Hazel Dubh.
Filling the reserve spot for the second year in a row was Sam McAteer’s five-year-old Randalstown Limited Edition which won the heavyweight section in the hands of Sheila, the owner’s wife.
McAteer purchased the grey gelding two years ago at Ballinasloe.
In the small hunter championship the judges reversed the placings of the four and five-year-old class when presenting the cup to Jane Bradbury, rider of Ann Smurfit’s Saint Moritz, a four-year-old bay mare by Olympic Lux which was bred in Tinahely by Eleanor Hadden.
The winner of the class, and slotting into the reserve position, was Jane Darragh’s five-year-old skewbald gelding Garvey’s Joy.
The presentation stage of the young event horse classes took place late yesterday afternoon and these four and five-year-olds tackle the second jumping stage this morning in the main arena.
That class will be followed by the young riders’ speed Derby over a similar track.
Competitors in the latter competition qualified last year and have since undergone training where there was a lot of emphasis on flat work to improve their overall performance.