WITH autumn closing in and a relative handful of shows remaining, it was the turn of the Irish Draught Horse Society’s national show last Saturday, which just missed out on this week’s Indian Summer spell.

Once again, a clash with Strokestown and the Roscommon show’s feature Irish Draught broodmare championship affected entries at Ballinasloe Showgrounds, where the 35th anniversary of the IDHS show took place.

The afternoon’s supreme championship contenders gathered after the John Anthony Cogan Memorial broodmare parade - a premium class offering €100 for broodmares with foals at foot - was over.

The first of the day’s championships was decided in the youngstock ring, where David O’Toole’s home-bred Lady Willow Breeze was Diane Gibson and Paddy Corbett’s champion choice. By Inisfree The Holy Grail out of the Cappa Cochise mare Willow Rose, the two-year-old also won this year’s All-Ireland Irish Draught filly final at Limerick Show and stood reserve to her dam in the feature Irish Draught championship at their local show in Louisburgh.

Reserve was Kilkenny owner Dermot Molloy’s Clogheen Captain Jack two-year-old colt, Jack Glenshannon.

Another Mayo combination was Maeve Carty and Gavin Shorten’s ridden champion: Amy Grady’s Murrisk Paudie. With just two ridden Draught classes and the current boom in this section, there is scope for more classes to be added at future shows.

Amy had won at the Traditional Irish Horse Association performance championship the previous weekend with his stable companion, The Countess of Murrisk, and Murrisk Paudie made amends for their pit stop en-route to Mullingar to have two shoes replaced by winning the four/five-year-old opening class at Ballinasloe.

By Farmhill Highlander, the Dublin reserve champion Irish Draught stallion, this four-year-old is out of the Agherlow mare Ashlawn Star and was also bred near Louisburgh by Michael Grady.

Claire Maher’s recent winning streak at Tullow and Moate continued, when her Gransha Midnight Magic, by Lionwood Kinsale Lad, won the six-year-old and over class, then stood reserve champion to Murrisk Paudie.

Entries were good in the mare and foal classes, where the Murrisk name was to the fore again, as Patrick Hohey’s colt won his class and the Shapiro family-sponsored foal championship. The champion foal is by Clooneen Stud’s Murrisk The Holy Grail, a half-brother to the ridden champion and also bred by Grady. Reserve was Richie Midleton’s Cloncastle Silver filly foal.

David O’Toole with his home-bred Lady Willow Breeze, the youngstock and reserve supreme champion at the IDHS national show in Ballinasloe \ Susan Finnerty

Noel Collins and Kenny Gracie also judged the broodmare classes, where they found their champion in Pat Finn’s Kentucky Dancer, a five-year-old Scrapman x Bridgeford Stockbroker mare, bred by Vanessa Lennon and winner of the young mare with foal at foot class.

She was the Mare of the Future reserve champion here last year for her Oranmore owner (this year’s Mare of the Future champion was Tom McNulty’s Cloondalgan Bound, by Cloneyhea Spellbound).

The reserve broodmare champion was Liam Lynskey’s DS Bounce With Me Baby, by his own late Moylough Bouncer out of Diamond Princess (Mount Diamond Flag) and bred by Brendan Duffy.

Murrisk Lad was an absentee from the supreme championship, where the combined judging panel opted for Kentucky Dancer as supreme and Lady Willow Breeze as reserve supreme.