THE emphasis was on show jumping in the Main Arena at last month’s London International Horse Show but, on Friday, December 20th, the arena was filled by 18 qualified combinations contesting the Easy Chip SSADL Grand Final.

Senior Showing and Dressage Ltd is a series, which caters exclusively for home-produced senior horses and ponies and the 2024 ridden champion was the Connemara stallion Glencarrig Marble, who progressed to the final from the first qualifier in March.

The 2007 son of Janus was bred at his Glencarrig Stud in Moycullen by Ciarán Curran, out of the Coosheen Finn mare Coosheen Breeze and is thus a full-brother of the Clifden and Dublin Horse Show champion, and prolific sire, Glencarrig Knight.

Glencarrig Marble, who was making his senior debut, is owned by Samantha Fowler, a nurse who purchased the grey with her late mother in 2014. “It was a complete shock, I never expected to be placed let alone win!” commented the delighted owner/rider. “Over the last 10 years, ‘Mickey’ has won so much; he’s been my pony of a lifetime and is an absolute legend.

“He has won so many county and agricultural shows. He has been to HOYS five times and was always placed, our best result being second in 2017. He has been to Olympia four times and was fourth in 2018. London this year was our first time doing the senior showing class, which we qualified for back in March, so we’ve had all year to wait. We did six HOYS qualifiers this year and were placed in every one; if I’d been able to get to some more, I’m convinced he’d have qualified again.

“Mickey was away at stud in 2020 and 2023 and has some fabulous offspring. My friend and I have two 2021 geldings by him and we are really excited about getting the boys out to do some novice ridden classes in 2025.”

Irish-bred winners

Most of the showing programme at the five-day fixture was staged in the New Horizon Plastics London Arena, where the first three days were devoted to horse classes, with ponies mainly reigning on Saturday and Sunday.

At the opening session on Wednesday, December 18th two Irish-bred winners caught the eye, the traditionally-bred Centre Court, who won his middle/heavyweight type class and stood reserve hunter champion and the small riding horse type class winner, Mise Moydrum Mirah.

Ridden by his owner Sally Iggulden, manager of Beverley racecourse, Centre Court is a 2019 Cougar gelding, who was bred in Co Clare by P.J. Roche out of the Young Carrabawn mare Noras Diamond. In July, this combination won their middleweight class before finishing reserve in the Polly Coles supreme amateur hunter championship at the Royal International Horse Show in Hickstead.

The Jessica Banks-owned and ridden Mise Moydrum Mirah, a Goresbridge Horse Sales graduate, is a 2018 Irish Sport Horse gelding by the Connemara stallion Glenmore Mirah Patrick. The dark bay, another with victories on the county circuit to his credit, was bred in Co Westmeath by Tom Keane out of the Moores Clover mare Moores Mama Mia, a full-sister to the former Grade A pony Ballynoe Galway Girl.

The final line-up in Thursday morning’s second class, the Rising Star of working hunter type, was headed by the ISH gelding Millmount Maestro, a traditionally-bred bay by the little-used thoroughbred stallion Frammassone. Reserve champion in his section, he is owned and ridden by the Isle Of Man-based Anna Higgins, who was delighted to tell us about her winner, who is out of the Crosstown Dancer mare Diaz Cross

“Millmount Maestro, aka Rory, was bred by Mary O’Halloran in Co Clare. He was bought by Marie Hennessy as a six-month-old foal and was sold at the 2021 Monart sale as a three-year-old. I’ve owned him since he was five. We finished second in the Search for a Star working horse class at the Horse of the Year Show in October.

“Rory is a super horse with the best attitude to life; he always wants to please and loves his work!” continued Higgins.

“We compete in all disciplines – dressage, show jumping, showing – and hope to do some eventing in the new year and have a go at the open working hunters over the summer.”

Star

On the Friday, the Rising Star cob type championship was won by the lightweight class winner Knockboy, with the reserve sash being presented to dog groomer Lisa Hardy, winner of the maxi class with her 2018 bay gelding Cortina, on whom she claimed the SEIB Search for a Star cob final at the 2023 Horse of the Year Show.

Scottish owner/rider Zoe Hyslop told us a bit about the champion, a 2015 palomino gelding, who was winning the lightweight class here for the second time.

“Knockboy, or Blondie to his friends, came from Ireland as a youngster. He was sold by John Landon, to Val Sheehan in Kent. He was then sold to Richard Telford and Anne Vestey to be produced for the show ring,” revealed Hyslop.

“Unfortunately, his breeding is unrecorded. Anne tries very hard to trace her horses’ breeding, to ensure credit goes back to the breeder and to maintain their heritage but, with Knockboy, she drew a blank.

When he arrived, he didn’t have a passport name or prefix, so Anne called him Knockboy, which is the ‘yellow mountain’ on the border between Cork and Kerry.

“I bought Knockboy in the summer of 2022 and we have had a great two seasons, sharing many successes.

“Our highlights from this year (2024) would be winning the Championship here at the London International Horse Show and taking the Champion Home-Produced Cob and the LIHS Champion titles at the British Show Horse Association’s National Championships at Addington Manor EC, in September.”

Kay Gillam and Victor won the Heavyweight cob wclass at The London International Horse Show \ Peter Nixon LIHS

Jumps for fun

The Rising Star heavyweight cob class was won by Kay Gillam and her seven-year-old strawberry roan gelding Victor.

“Victor was born in Ireland but, while he is believed to be a full Irish Draught, he has no recorded breeding. I keep meaning to get him tested because he is the spitting image of Dunsandle Diamond. He is the loveliest horse to live with and ride. I bought him from Rosemary Connors and before that Fionnuala Moloney Carey had him.

“He is an amazing hunter as well, who has been out most weeks since September,” continued Gillam.

“He jumps for fun and has turned his hand to dressage. He fractured his neck, in the field, when he was five and has a muscle condition, which is managed with diet so far.

“He works six days a week and loves the big shows with lots of atmosphere. I have totally home-produced him myself with the odd lesson.”