THE unpredictable Irish midsummer saw a record number of exhibitors brave a status yellow rainfall warning to participate in the seven horse and pony rings hosted at Athlone Agricultural Show last Sunday. This included hosting the excitement and adrenaline filled action of Irish Pony Club Games for the first time.

In the RDS Breeders’ championship, judges Claire Oakes and Rachel Hamilton Bennett selected Derry Rothwell’s Cruising mare Greenhall Dot and her Dignified Van’t Zorgvliet foal. The mare is a full-sister to Rothwell’s 2011 Championship winner Millennium Cruise. Clare exhibitor John Mulconroy also qualified Able Mistress for the second year running and she has a Future Trend foal at foot.

Nenagh exhibitor Adrian Shoer is also RDS-bound with his six-year-old Castlequin Clover by Castlecomer Q with a Chacoa colt foal. In the Young Horse Championship, the same judges selected Tom Newell’s 2018 Limerick lady winner, the Financial Reward-sired Kilcahill Gemini, as their Champion with reserve going to Richard Gildea’s two-year-old Lancelot filly Notabother, the 2018 ISA All Ireland Yearling Filly Champion.

The Irish Thoroughbred Marketing-sponsored Racehorse to Riding horse class was won for the second year in a row by Hugh Leonard’s Forpadydeplasterer, ridden by Jane Davis. Grace Maxwell Murphy and husband William McMahon combined with their Irish Draught Cappa Ranger to win the Middleweight Hunter, Ridden Irish Draught and the RDS ladies side saddle qualifier. The ridden classes were judged by Shane McKenna and Maeve Carty with Denis McGrath on conformation. They opted for John Stafford’s Major Malone, ridden by Nicola Perrin, as the champion having earlier won the lightweight hunter class. The five-year-old chesnut is a traditional Irish half-bred by Rosheen Yeats.

Gin Time, by Irish Draught sire Pride of Meath and ridden by Philippa Scott for Bill Bourns, followed last month’s Balmoral heavyweight win by winning a well filled mixed cob class with 15 exhibits.

The Karen Coffey-ridden Irish Draught gelding Rhythm Renegade by Penmerryls Rhythm and Blues won a strong maxi class.

Competitive

In the Connemara classes, Liam Cotter chose Tullamore exhibitor Sean Cooney’s mare Wyncroft Hero (by Larkens Cascade Dawn) as in-hand champion having stood reserve in 2018 and her colt foal by Brooklodge Buster won the foal class.

Kerry exhibitor Tim Hurley’s journey paid off when his yearling colt Dunegan Tom (Glencarraig Knight) stood reserve. In the ridden section, Lisa Hockley’s L’Tara’s Jenny made it back-to-back wins at Athlone in the Elite Mare Championship.

Patricia Hoey judged the show ponies where Jerry Maloney’s Mountain & Moorland class winner Princess Sweet Flame was the champion and Matthew Newell was family pony champion with Kilcahill Gismo having won the first ridden class.

The ever-popular working hunter ring was won by Ronan Morris’ Mr Clover mare Bailey Boots, ridden by Ella Morris. Alicia Devlin Byrne won the side saddle class on King Flagmount. Champion working hunter pony was Janet Williamson’s Seapatrick Peregrine, ridden by Josh Williamson, in the Denise Colebrook and Imelda O’Shaughnessy-judged working hunter ponies.

The Irish Draught classes were judged by Charlotte Moore and Lancashire Irish Draught breeder and judge Enid Lord. They selected Paddy Scarry’s Mountains Lady as their champion Irish Draught, this 10-year-old is by Mountain Diamond out of Clover Derrada boasting an increasingly rare Clover Hill damline. Pat Murphy’s Puntabegs Lass was reserve.

Leitrim breeder Padraig Bohan’s combination of the Coolcronan Wood-sired Gortfadda Ruby Kingdom and her filly foal by Knockaleery Dancer won the Paddy McCarthy and Valerie Davis-judged Irish Draught Mare and Foal Breeders Championship with a prize fund of €1,000. Earlier in the mare and foal classes, they had also selected local exhibitor Darragh Glynn’s filly foal by Elusive Emir as their champion foal.