ACTION in Ring Two at next week’s Dublin Horse Show will start and end, as has become the norm, with the APCOA performance Irish Draught classes, for which combinations have qualified, and the equally popular working hunter horse section, supported by Horse Sport Ireland and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Correna Bowe and Alice Griffin, who finished second and third respectively in the four and five-year-old Irish Draught class 12 months ago, return on Wednesday with two geldings owned by Correna’s father J.J. His daughter once again rides the 2018 Cappa Amadeus grey Patrickswell Sherry while Griffin partners Patrickswell Danny, a four-year-old son of Baltydaniel Silver Fox.

James Rochford and Diarmuid Ryan have qualified two horses apiece. The former rides a pair of four-year-old geldings for Tanya Bourke, Prospect Silver (by Glanntana) and Prospect Earl (by Gortfree Hero) who both qualified at Scarteen. Ryan will be on board his own 2018 Scrapman gelding Clogher Commander and Dermot Molloy’s year younger Heigh Ho Dubh gelding Cummer Dubh.

Edel Whyte partners her father Gerry’s five-year-old home-bred Beechmore Silver Crest gelding Sleehaun Master Mind; Sean Looney rides the only stallion in the field, Ryan and Smith’s home-bred Benlowscross grey Benlows Hero, another home-bred five-year-old; and Sarah Maxwell will be on board the only mare in the class, her father Laurence’s Lionwood Kinsales Lad four-year-old, Carrafarm Constellations.

Also in the line-up will be Helen Keatley with Graham Dempsey’s 2019 WRS Sun Rise grey Russell and Scotland’s Duncan McFayden riding Tom Moran’s Monards Dark Hero, a 2019 grey by Gortfree Hero. Having finished close-up but failing to qualify in two of the earlier rounds, Ivan Ryan won at Rincoola to book his ticket on the five-year-old Prescotts Diamond gelding My Springview Diamond who is owned by Tattersalls chairman, Edmond Mahony.

Laura Snow, who won the six-year-old and upwards class last August on Drynam Hero, bids to follow up next Wednesday with Colette Anhold’s Tilmans Hero. This 11-year-old Clewbay Bouncer gelding, who recently caught the eye with his winning performances at Kilmacanogue, is also entered in the older middleweight hunter class on Friday.

There are two stallions qualified for the older ID class, the Katie Stafford-owned and ridden Dennistown Prince of Pride and last year’s third-placed DS Ballagh Bouncer, who is ridden for Liam Lynskey by Hannah Gordon. Maria McNamara returns with her father Tom’s Shanbally Catchphase who was fourth in the younger class last August. That six-year-old finished second at Balmoral to Ashwood Reggie who qualified for Dublin at Rincoola under his owner Edwina O’Connor.

Mentioned above, Drynam Hero has been entered in Sunday’s working hunter section where Louise Lyons intends riding the home-bred mares Dartans Red Mission (by Orestus) and her year-younger half-sister Dartans Ladybird (by Courage II) and Lady Perdita Blackwood’s Irish Draught gelding Clandeboye. Between them, this trio won all four working hunter classes at the recent Tattersalls July Show where the five-year-old dual winner Dartans Red Mission stood champion.

It’s going to be a long few days for Louise Daly and Jenny Banks who team up to judge Wednesday’s Irish Draught performance classes, Sunday’s working hunter classes and, between times, the cobs and heavyweight hunters.