Margie McLoone

CO Galway couple Paul and Imelda O’Shaughnessy enjoyed a superb Dublin Horse Show last week, winning a championship apiece on two geldings carrying the prefix of their Chantilly Farm near Turloughmore.

Paul was first to score when claiming Wednesday’s Thornton Recycling small hunter title on Chantilly Bojangles who always topped the line-up in division one of the four and five-year-old class. By the Dutch Warmblood Kroongraaf, the bay gelding struck onlookers as the perfect model of a small hunter and this was ratified by judges Jack Cochrane and Allister Hood.

In his class, Chantilly Bojangles initially stood ahead of Elizabeth Ryan’s Ballycoskerry Blu Raphael (by Corna Blu) but the blue rosette was presented to Jane Bradbury on board her own Diamond Design mare Gardenia who had been third in the original line-up.

The trio were all four-year-olds as were the first two in Section B where Earl Of Grenane, produced in Comber by rider Lesley Webb and Richard Iggulden for Jennifer and Karyn Kennedy, never budged from the top of the line.

This grey gelding, who won for connections at Balmoral in May, is by the Connemara stallion Cashelbay Prince. He was bred in Co Tipperary by Philippa Mansergh-Wallace out of a thoroughbred mare by Jolly Jake.

Event rider Felicity Ward partnered the Breeda Mountain gelding EPA Sonny Bill into second place for Elizabeth and Pat Ahern while Matt Dickenson finished third on the family’s five-year-old Rebel Mountain gelding Epona Stables Solo Rebel.

Very much the old man of the section, the 2012 champion Colorado belied his 15 years to win the six-year-olds and upwards class ahead of the 2009 Irish Draught mare Madame Stella (by Crannagh Hero), ridden for owner/breeder Rufina Shiel Mullen by Vincent Holian, and the nine-year-old grey gelding Le Polar Bear who was partnered by his owner Philippa Scott.

Alison Crozier’s well-known chesnut gelding put up his usual impressive performance under Jamie Smyth in the championship but, on this occasion, he had to settle for the reserve slot behind Chantilly Bojangles who was bred in Freshford by Paul O’Byrne. He is out of the OBOS Quality 004 mare Uppercourt Posh whose oldest recorded produce, the 2008 Warrenstown You 2 gelding Uppercourt Cooley, recently won his second novice event in England.

A delighted O’Shaughnessy explained his purchase of the 2015 small hunter champion. “I bought him unbroken in February and what attracted me to him was his movement; I won’t buy a horse that doesn’t move well.

“He was second first time out at Ballivor and won the Royal International qualifier at Mullingar.

“I’ve sold a half-share in the horse to Welshman Lynn Turley, with whom I do a good bit of business, and the plan is for Imelda to ride him here next year.”

COBS

Turley is also joint-owner of Chantilly Sandman who Imelda O’Shaughnessy partnered to victory in Friday’s Kelcor Construction cob championship having earlier taken the lightweight division.

In his class, the five-year-old was originally placed second behind Robert Morrow’s Irish Draught chesnut Morrows Poacher Jack (Gwen Scott).

However, in the final line-up, that six-year-old Castana gelding had been dropped to third by Cochrane and Hood, behind Chantilly Sandman and last year’s winning lightweight, Sam McAteer’s eight-year-old Randalstown Designer Stubble (Lesley Webb).

The bay gelding Carla 09 improved a place on last August to win the heavyweight class where the judges made a number of changes to their original line-up.

A favourite with the crowd, Ann Regan’s Barnstormer dropped from first to fourth while Niamh Martin’s five-year-old novice Cobs And Robbers slipped a place to third. Suzanne Hill was brought up to second with Gareth McClean’s eight-year-old skewbald gelding Socket To Me.

Ridden by Ann O’Grady for Co Clare exhibitor Stephen Russell (connections of the 2013 champion Johnny Long), the six-year-old Carla 09 has hunted, show jumped and won working hunter classes. O’Grady considers him ideal for the cob jumping circuit in Britain.

In contrast there were no changes to the top three placings in the maxi class where Brae Ville Celtic Colours always stood ahead of rider Jodie Moran and James Braddish’s four-year-old mare De Dowager and the six-year-old Irish Draught gelding Tommie Tucker (by Holycross), ridden by Lyndsey Wallace for her mother Lorraine.

All forward in the championship had their supporters but the ones cheering most at the end of the day, and well into the evening, were those behind Chantilly Sandman and Imelda O’Shaughnessy, particularly the rider’s husband Paul, who was loudest of all, and her sister Diane Lynch. For the second year running, Randalstown Designer Stubble left with the reserve sash.

In common with the O’Shaughnessys’ multiple-winning cob, The Forger, the Martin Cosgrove-bred Chantilly Sandman is an Irish Draught being by Gurraun Sandman out of the Crannagh Hero mare Cranagh Flagon. He is now heading to Wales with Turley and partner Hayley Gill.

COLOURED

Brae Ville Celtic Colours and his rider Shawlene Leebody arrived in Ring 2 hot on their victory in Ring 1 in the Top Line Murtaghs coloured horse class.

There they had come up from third to stand ahead of the original fourth, Pilgrim, a seven-year-old Arden gelding ridden for English breeder Liz Andrews by her daughter Jo, and Sean McKenna aboard Jane Barron’s six-year-old Travellers Galaxy gelding Apache Pinto who had topped the first line-up. The class was judged by Mathew Lawrence who said that it was difficult to assess such a diverse group of horses whose only common trait was a broken coat.

“Although numbers are small in England, we do have classes for different types of coloured horses which make judging a lot easier,” he commented.

Brae Ville Celtic Colours was bred in Co Down by motorsport enthusiast Elaine Thompson who owns the 10-year-old skewbald gelding in partnership with her father Leslie Wright. “He’s by Celtic Warrior, who stands in Bangor, out of a chesnut mare,” revealed Thompson. “I had planned to stand him at stud but he got so big and strong that, with children at home, I decided to geld him when he was six and then break him.

“He didn’t do a lot for the first couple of years but has really blossomed since Shawlene, who’s from Newtownards, started riding him this season; they just keep winning! As I have more of the family at home, he’s for sale and there was quite a bit of interest in him after the cob championship. Unfortunately, as he had done back-to-back classes, he was quite tired by then.”