BELFAST producers Jamie Smyth and Ryan Anderson have enjoyed an excellent start to the 2023 showing season, underlined by their many wins at last week’s Balmoral Show.

On Wednesday morning as the action started in Arena 1 with the Creightons hunter section, Smyth partnered Debbie Harrod’s Endeavour R to victory in the five-year-old and upwards heavyweight class. In the afternoon, he also topped the line-up of conformation judge Wendy Phipps and ride judges Amelia Bevan and Kirsty Aird in the older lightweight class with Harrod’s Bannside Dancer.

Later, Smyth won both small hunter classes, landing the four-year-old division with Anderson’s grey Cavalier Land gelding Highview Overado, and the older horses’ class with the five-year-old Imperial Tiger gelding Balief Iperial who they prepped for the show for Susan Fanning who then took him home to north Co Dublin.

When it came to the championship, Smyth chose correctly to get back on Highview Overado who was bred in Co Wexford by Seamus Leacy out of the Jack Of Diamonds mare, Redinagh Blackjack. Katie Crozier took over the ride on Balief Imperial who stood reserve.

On Thursday morning, Smyth and Anderson were spectators/grooms as Crozier competed in both North Down Marquees ladies’ astride classes. Bannside Dancer had to settle for second in the four and five-year-old class behind the Radolin mare Ballarin Shannon, who was ridden for Rob Jeffares by partner Nicola Perrin, but Crozier was quickly compensated when Harrod’s Wall Street II topped the line-up in the six-year-old and upwards class.

In the championship, it was Rathangan’s Perrin who took the honours with Ballarin Shannon ahead of the eight-year-old OL Metta gelding Wall Street II who was partnered at this stage by Gwen Scott.

Heavyweight champion

On Thursday afternoon, attention was centred on the Main Arena for the Creightons hunter championship where the organisation could have been a lot smoother.

At this stage, Scott had been legged up on to Endeavour R who won the heavyweight championship ahead of the Shane McKenna-ridden Mongorry Cormac, a seven-year-old Gortfree Lakeside Lad gelding who won the exhibitor-bred championship for his Co Donegal owner, John Carlin.

Aubrey Chapman partnered his father George’s five-year-old Ulysses M2S gelding Caseys Expresso to victory in the mediumweight championship ahead of the champion four-year-old, the Rachel Moore-ridden About A Master, a bay Golden Master gelding who owners, Team Torrens, purchased in Britain in February. The reserve champion four-year-old was the lightweight gelding Lynara Showbiz, a Centre Stage bay ridden for Jayne McConnell by Victoria Clarke.

As Bannside Dancer had been bred by his grandfather Samuel Smith, Jamie stuck with this five-year-old Legaland Darco gelding who claimed the lightweight title ahead of the similarly-aged Castlecomer Q mare Ballarin For Joy who was ridden by Ciara Mullen for her mother, Rufina Shiel Mullen.

As usual, spectators all had their favourites when it came to the supreme championship but, once Scott set Endeavour R alight, there seemed little doubt but that the Creightons title would go to this seven-year-old Cavalier Royale gelding who was bred in Co Wexford by Simon McCarthy out of the Diamond Rock mare Cushinstown Diamond. The Chapmans’ Caseys Expresso, who was reserve champion middleweight at Dublin last year, stood reserve supreme.

Smyth and Anderson intend taking their novice horses to Lurgan before heading across the water with the older horses to show over a short period of time at the Cheshire and Lincolnshire county shows before heading up to Edinburgh for the Royal Highland.