TWENTY-one-year-old Harry Wood claimed his first championship win at the Dublin Horse Show last Saturday, when guiding MHS Mix De Blue to win the Mo Chroi four-year-old championship in the Simmonscourt arena.

Based at Ballypatrick Stables in Thurles, Co Tipperary, it was the second consecutive win in the class for Greg Broderick’s outfit, which completed a stable one-two when Niamh McEvoy finished second with BP Wishes.

The winner, a grey gelding by Aganix du Seigneur out of the Plot Blue mare MHS September Song, was bred by Sinead and Michael Brennan and, having passed through the Ballypatrick Auction last December, is currently owned by GBBS Int Ltd and Matt Calderwood. The second dam of this gelding is the 1.50m mare MHS Jersey Girl (Cardento), who is currently jumping internationally under James Brennan.

The combination won both four-year-old qualifiers before coming before Canadian international show jumper Beth Underhill in Saturday’s six-horse final. Underhill was joined by Ireland’s David Simpson and USA’s Spencer Smith, winner of the Aga Khan Trophy the previous day, as the two ride judges.

All six horses were ridden by their own rider first and given a score out of 100, before there were another 100 marks on offer for future potential and rideability from the ride judges. In the first round, the elastic MHS Mix De Blue was already the clear favourite of Underhill, with a huge score of 87 marks, 13.5 clear of the second placed horse.

Simpson was on board for the second round and, despite knocking fence three, he awarded him 45 for future potential and 40 for rideability, leaving him on a final score of 172.

Mature

Wood has been based at Ballypatrick Stables since last October and, talking about the winner, said: “David Connors broke him before the auction and I started doing cross-poles with him and then he went out for a break. He came back in around April time and I’ve been doing everything with him since. He is an absolute gentleman. For a big four-year-old, he is so mature in his mentality and the feeling he gives is incredible; he’s so easy and light off the floor.

“I was really happy for the Brennans, they have bred a lot of good horses and I’m hoping this one is going to be the best one of the lot!”

From the North East of England, Wood has been based in Ireland for three years, first at Ennisnag Stud in Kilkenny before moving to Thurles. “I had my own yard at home and I wanted a bit of a change to try and learn how other people do it. A friend of mine told me about the job in Ennisnag and it was a big chance.

“That went well and then I thought I’d like to improve my riding and that’s why I went to the best man I could in Greg and I asked could I join the team,” Wood added.

Despite losing her title to her stable mate, McEvoy scored 163.5 aboard the GBBS Intl Ltd’s home-bred mare BP Wishes to take second place. Also by Aganix du Seigneur, this mare is out of BP Masterpiece (Cruising). She jumped two lovely clear rounds under McEvoy and Simpson and received 45 for both future potential and rideability.

In third place was the big flashy mare Leestone Emeresky under Shane Kenny. Bred by John McKibben out of the Cornet Obolensky mare Leestone Cavalenski, she is by Emerald van’t Ruytershof and owned by Shane and Padraic Kenny. Many around the ring were surprised by her first round score of 68, claiming she deserved higher, and scores of 44 and 40 in the second round left her on a total of 152.

Fourth place went to Hannah Agnew aboard William Greene’s home-bred Edentrillick Twisted Pixie, a mare by Kentucky Van’T Ruytershof on a final score of 146. Fifth was Cavan’s Camryn Clarke with his own mare Perla Tn (Cantona Tn x Eldorado Van De Zeshoek) on 137.5. The final place in the line up was John Byrne’s home-bred Tangelos Touch (Tangelo Van De Zuuthoeve x Captain Clover), ridden by Tadhg McKiernan, on 131.5.