DROMARA’s Dessie Gibson may have remained outside the P & O Ferries Arena during the judging of the well-filled youngstock section last Wednesday week, on day one of the Balmoral show, but he landed yet another supreme championship when judges Kate Nicholson and Jack Cochrane came down in favour of his champion yearling, Spot Light.

Expertly shown by David Alcorn, the grey gelding is by Imnotafraid Fortuna out of the OBOS Quality 004 mare Greannstown Move Over and Gibson purchased him privately as a foal from his Co Sligo breeder, Frank Kilgannon. He will go straight to Dublin. The reserve champion yearling, who went on to be reserve champion filly, was Tiernan Gill’s unnamed bay by Chelis HC Z.

Skibbereen exhibitor Regina Daly had the champion and reserve two-year-olds in the Rosemary Connors shown Time For Another, a Moylough Legacy gelding out of the Cougar mare Grove Hill Heather who she purchased from breeders Paddy and Richard Gildea as a foal. He went on to stand reserve supreme. Daly’s sister Jenny O’Driscoll showed Tinnascully Witness who the owner purchased as a yearling from Michael O’Callaghan.

Three-year-old champion

The three-year-old champion was Pat Martin’s medium to heavyweight geldings’ class winner Imperator who was purchased as a foal and was second in Dublin last August. Bred in Co Wexford by Eileen Noctor, he is by Emperor Augustus out of the Coille Mor Hill mare Kemella Clover Diamond whose stock have always done well in the show ring.

The reserve champion three-year-old, and champion filly, was Pat Finn’s Flogas Penelope. Shown by Tiernan Gill this Dutch Warmblood bay is by Jardonnay VDL out of the Fergar Mail mare Ivania. John Roche was delighted to win the Sir Milne Barbour Cup for the champion exhibitor-bred entry, his Castleforbes Lord Lancer filly Assagart Hopeful.

There’s no doubt that if you don’t have breeding stock you won’t have youngstock but the mare and foal section, which was judged earlier in the P & O Ferries Arena, was very poorly-supported.

Only two of the five entries appeared in the lightweight broodmare class and here Nicholson and Cochrane found their champion and reserve in John Roche’s home-bred Assagart Faithfully and Yvonne Pearson’s Kief Queen B. The winning six-year-old is by Coroner out of the Flagmount King mare Assagart Saviour.

Kief Queen B’s foal by Rossier won the filly class for Pearson, with Assagart Faithfully’s first foal by Carrabis Z standing second. Paula Howard had the sole entry in the colt division, a son of Tiger Attack out of the Bienamado mare Dernahatten Out Of Touch who was second to Roche’s Assagart Harmony in the medium to heavyweight class. Roche feels the inclusion of a dry mare class would boost numbers.

There were just three Irish Draught mares forward, Seamus Duffy winning with his 16-year-old Castana chesnut Kilcashel Abbey while Rachel Kinnaird won the foal class with her exhibit by Loughkeeland Benedict out of her second-placed mare Elboro Amber (by Diamond Skip).