Margie McLoone

COLORADO, supreme champion ridden horse and pony under Gavin Daly at the 2013 Northern Ireland Festival, repeated the feat in Cavan Equestrian Centre on Sunday night but this time with two different riders in the saddle.

A multiple champion when in the ownership of Justine Fay, the chesnut gelding changed hands last autumn, after landing the show hunter pony title at the Dublin Horse Show. Colorado was partnered at the RDS by Jamie Smyth who produced him for Fay last year and the Co Antrim rider was on board again last Sunday night when the now 15-year-old was crowned supreme ridden horse champion.

“Colorado, who was supreme champion pony last year, never shows his age and rises to the occasion of the evening performance,” said Smyth. “He’s very professional at all times but really comes to life under the lights. One of the judges commented that he was a pleasure to watch and a worthy champion. He was purchased after Dublin for Katie Crozier whose older sister Alison keeps her five-year-old show hunter, Dragons Den, with me. Katie keeps Colorado at home near Armagh and I pop down there to ride him once a week. We’ve started jumping him in workers, which he is enjoying, and he just failed to qualify for the working hunter championship at Cavan when he had a pole down.

“He’d done plenty as it was however, as I rode him to win his small hunter class and the hunter championship en route to the supreme ridden horse championship. Katie, who’s 15, won the intermediate show hunter class and championship on him and then landed the supreme ridden pony championship. It was a super weekend!”

PARTNERSHIP

Smyth who is based at Cullycapple Stables in Aghadowey, is bringing six horses to Balmoral where he will continue the partnership with Colorado.

Although beaten into the reserve slot in the ridden horse championship, Rathangan’s Nicola Perrin was delighted with the performance of her Irish Draught Ballarin Rocky The Conqueror who, as an inexperienced five-year-old, was quite tired at the end of two busy days.

“We left here at 6.30am on Saturday and that day he won his novice ridden hunter class, the novice ridden championship and was third in his Festival working hunter 80cms class which was his first time on grass. On Sunday, he won his heavyweight hunter class, was reserve hunter champion to Colorado and won the Murdock Saddlery supreme novice ridden championship that evening before being reserve to Colorado in the open supreme. This was my first visit to the Festival and I was impressed with the organisation and thought all the judges were friendly, helpful and rode very well.

“That was just Rocky’s third show following Barnadown, where he won his heavyweight ridden hunter class and the Festival 80cms working hunter class, and Boswell where he won both the 80 and 90cms qualifiers. The plan now is to qualify for the Irish Draught performance championship at Dublin where he will also be entered in the heavyweight hunters.

“I noticed Rocky advertised on Done Deal last September and had him vetted before I went to see him to save myself a trip as he was so far north in Donegal that the next stop was Iceland! I ride out in the mornings for racehorse trainer Michael Halford and then do my own horses in the afternoon. I’ve room here for a few more show horses but want to concentrate on quality over quantity.”

While Colorado has no recorded breeding, Ballarin Rocky The Conqueror has a lengthy pedigree. He was bred in Co Donegal by Fulton Buchanan out of Murloy Mist (by The Conqueror) from a damline that has rarely produced anything but pure Irish Draughts.

Lynne Spence also had a good show with the grey mare KOM Limited Edition who was first reserve in the supreme ridden horse championship, reserve supreme novice, champion novice working hunter horse, and more! The four-year-old, who was bred in Co Down by Patsy Murray, is by the Irish Draught King Of Mourne out of a thoroughbred mare by Beneficial.

HOME-PRODUCED

Special mention has to go to Downpatrick couple Elaine and David O’Connor who, on Friday night, were beckoned forward into the top two slots in the home-produced working hunter horse championship on animals bred by Elaine’s mother Marion Turley out of the Householder mare Tullymurry Tammy.

David partnered the four-year-old King Of Mourne gelding Tullymurry Greyjoy while Elaine was on board the eight-year-old Camiro de Haar Z mare Tullymurry Holly with whom she had such a bad fall at their home event last May. News of her championship success was well-received among the eventing fraternity.