THE current heatwave is both a blessing and curse to agricultural shows in competition with silage fields and the beach. Compared to last year’s horizontal rain and windy conditions, the weather at West Clare Show was tropical with a welcome Wild Atlantic Way breeze keeping temperatures down.

Held a couple of miles from Kilrush town, the show field is beside a lake now dubbed MHS Going Global’s ‘swimming pool’, where as a young horse, Greg Broderick’s future Rio Olympics mount went for an unscheduled dip.

Show jumping certainly bolsters attendance at agricultural shows, although a Saturday date can struggle to attract footfall. Showing classes, sensibly pared back at West Clare, to in-hand horses and a three-year-old loose jumping class, began on the dot at 11am and secretary Bridgette Coghlan, with the back-up of an excellent team, produced a great catalogue, crammed with interesting snippets on the show’s history.

Hosting The Irish Field Breeders Championship qualifier is a huge privilege for the West Clare committee for this ‘clockwork’ show, where Philip Copithorne and Paddy O’Donnell had seven entries before them in a well-laid out show ring.

With the last three qualifying places on offer, the Dublin die-hards were prepared to travel and the early start paid off for Mary Rothwell and Trevor Horgan who were in charge of Derry Rothwell’s home-bred Greenhall Violet and her colt by Island Commander, who topped the lineup.

By his own Crosstown Dancer stallion Greenhall and out of the famous Cailin Deas, this brings the Tinahely family’s number of qualified combinations this year to four. John and Catherine Roche’s Bonnie Prince mare Assagart Jewel, another home-bred, also booked her place with a filly by Paddy Quirke’s late Holsteiner sire Ars Vivendi.

Slotting in between the pair was John Mulconroy’s Able Mistress, by the Master Imp sire Ryelands Seamaster and out of Able Chip. From Willie Boland’s Chippison’s family – incidentally, Willie celebrated his 90th birthday this year – she has a filly by the Irish Draught sire Young Carrabawn at foot.

Last year saw the inaugural presentation of the Paddy Downes Memorial Cup for the three-year-old champion at the late West Clare horseman’s local show. This year’s winner was Michael and Rachel Lyons’s Kilmastulla Mr Brixton, by another late sire in Norman Allen’s thoroughbred Subtle Power.

Lyons’s gelding then stood reserve in the overall young horse championship to Donie McGale’s Loughehoe Guy two-year-old gelding. Second last year in the All Ireland yearling final at Barryroe, he is now produced for his northern owner by Tiernan Gill.

West Clare Horse Show broodmare champion Miss Cranny Lancelot with Richard Gildea. Photo Susan Finnerty

Denise Colebrooke and Patricia Hoey had well-supported broodmare classes too, where their champion was Donegal owners Richard & Paddy Gildea’s Miss Cranny Lancelot, ahead of Gill’s Flogas Liqueur. Gildea’s Lagans OBOS Quality colt was the champion foal and in reserve was another Dublin-bound foal in Linda McInerney’s filly, from Tyson’s second Irish-born crop.

The ‘Banner Boys’ finally struck in the three-year-old loose jumping where there was a nice double for the offspring of Stevie Russell’s sire Rehy High Society.

By the late Harlequin du Carel, the Atlantic Stud sire produced the top two, with the winner owned by Michael Keane and Stevie himself taking second place in this popular class, judged by the multi-tasking Tiernan Gill.