SIX-TIME regional champion rider Derek O’Connor had no luck as the northern point-to-point season came to a close with the East Antrim meeting at Loughanmore last Saturday. However, he had an enjoyable afternoon the previous day as ride judge for the racehorse to riding horse class at Balmoral Show where Waterford trainer and former amateur John Queally assessed conformation.

Sponsored by the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association, the class attracted 15 entries of which 11 met their engagement in the main arena, although that number was then reduced to nine as two of the horses left the class. The chief steward was none other than ITBA council member and Northern Region representative Denis Macauley who was acting in place of the much-missed Terence McKeag to whom we send our best wishes for a speedy recovery from surgery.

Derek had judged a similar class at Limerick Show so knew the format but found the sense of occasion and riding in the big ring with such a large crowd watching a completely different experience. The class was the best endowed financially on the showing side of the Balmoral equine programme and always draws a big crowd to the ring.

“There were some beautiful horses and the top few were really lovely to ride,” commented the Co Galway amateur. “There wasn’t a whole lot between Forpadydeplasterer and Un Atout but Pady behaved impeccably throughout the whole class and deserved the win.”

The now 17-year-old Forpadydeplasterer has won the racehorse to riding horse class at Dublin for three years running (2014-2016), and last week was his first time to compete at Balmoral. Owner/rider Joanne Quirke was determined to ride him there last week and was delighted with the win. As she is now five months pregnant, the Tattersalls International Horse Trials event co-ordinator is passing over the ride on the bay to 16-year-old Ciaran Feldman who helps out at her Meath yard.

Final

The highest-placed northern-based horse in the final line-up was the Alistair McDonald owned-Mossbank, the 19-year-old Billy McGladdery-bred Kadeed gelding who finished fourth under Nutts Corner’s Chloe Thompson. Horse Racing Ireland employee Susan Scott was a place back in fifth on the 16-year-old Clerkenwell gelding Royal Clerk. The latter is still owned by his former trainer Sarah Dawson who hunts the bay regularly throughout the season. On Wednesday, Sarah was acting as one of the stewards for the breeding and youngstock classes at the show. Others from the world of racing and point-to-pointing who filled such positions over the four days included Celia O’Neill, Craig Caven, Max Ervine, Brian Polly and Jim McLoughlin. For the record, Co Wicklow’s Alison Clancy finished second in Friday’s class on the 11-year-old Robin Des Champs gelding Un Atout, the Dublin winner in 2017, and last year’s winner of this Balmoral class, Sizing Australia, was third under Co Kilkenny’s Nicki Russell.