CO Kilkenny rider Jenny Williams proved unbeatable at last week’s Royal Ulster Agricultural Society show at Balmoral Park where she and her husband Ian’s Gneeve King William won both Irish Draught championships.

The combination struck initially on Wednesday afternoon in Arena 1 where they won the six-year-old and upwards class, ahead of Shane McKenna and the 2016 Gortfree Lakeside Lad gelding Mongorry Cormac (who had an excellent show), before claiming the British Horse Society ridden championship with the same Co Tipperary combination standing reserve.

The four and five-year-old class was won by Alicia Devlin Byrne on her 2017 WRS Elvis gelding The Kings Silver who was bred in Co Cork by John O’Connor out of his Fast Silver mare, Lisrobin Lady. Susan Spratt, the BHS manager for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, presented the rosettes.

In the Clive Richardson Ltd performance championship in the Main Arena on Thursday morning, Gneeve King William repeated his 2021 win in the older class but, on this occasion, instead of standing reserve, he took the title to the much to the delight of his owner and rider and their travelling support team of Jenny’s mother, Louise Thompson, and the couple’s four-year-old son Max. Jenny’s coach, Nicky Roncoroni, was an absentee.

“He was absolutely brilliant and I’m over the moon!” enthused Williams who won last year’s Dublin Horse Show older Irish Draught performance championship which was held at Lambertstown on the now eight-year-old Treanlaur Rocky gelding.

“This was his first show of the year as he got a good break following Balmoral last September.

“Unfortunately, even though the final wasn’t held in Dublin, he can’t compete in the Dublin Horse Show qualifiers this year so I may enter him in one of the regular working hunter classes or we may go over to England as the flat class here was a qualifier for the British Draught Horse Society breed show which takes place the previous week in August. He’ll have a bit of a break now and then do some show jumping to sharpen him up.”

Gneeve King William, who was bred in Co Galway by Leonie Quigley out of her Its The Quiet Man mare Leonies Lady, was judged in both Irish Draught championships by Scotland’s Jane Gilchrist (conformation and jump) and Ireland’s Kevin McGuinness (ride) with Ireland’s George Champion judging conformation in the performance classes.

North Co Dublin-based McGuinness, who was a late substitute for England’s Jane Collins, was impressed by the dual champion but, in particular, by his performance when he rode him in the Main Arena on Thursday.

McGuinness was also taken by the reserve performance champion, Emperor John, winner of the four and five-year-old class under his Balrath, Co Meath owner, Sive Ryan. The 2018 Creggan Emperor gelding was bred in Co Roscommon by Hugh Hennigan out of his Carrickcottagestar mare, Manor Lady.

“I bought him as a two-year-old, during the first lockdown, from John Igoe in Glasson who buys around 10 to 12 foals each year and usually sells them as three-year-olds. I also had this fellow’s year-older full-brother, who’s now in the States.

“This was his third show as I rode him at Boswell for the Show of the East and at the Northern Ireland Festival where he won both the four-year-old flat class and the four-year-old working hunter class, taking on all breeds. I’ve another four-year-old Irish Draught at home but he’s a lot greener at the moment.”

Ryan, who is assisted at all times by her mother, Sandra Hatton, works her horses with Darren Jordan in Curragha and she rides some for him as well. “The aim now is to qualify for Dublin,” concluded Ryan who is looking forward to an uninterrupted campaign this year.