CLAIRE Devlin’s Blackwood Fernando added to his illustrious CV when winning the North Down Marquees Connemara working hunter championship in Arena 1 at Balmoral last Thursday afternoon, just hours after landing the Clifden high performance championship qualifier in the same ring.

Now 26 years of age, the Ferdia gelding was expertly ridden as usual by the owner’s daughter Alicia Devlin Byrne who was delighted with the grey’s clear in his working hunter class (for riders aged 16 and upwards) while putting the 10 penalties he incurred in the qualifier down to exuberance. “He just got over-excited coming down to the last, saw a long stride, took off and lowered a pole.”

While we could look everything up for accuracy, enthusiasm works better when discussing Blackwood Fernando, who was bred by Patrick McNamara out of the Mervyn Pookhaun mare Dancing Queen, and here we are only talking about Balmoral and Clifden!

“Last year was his third or fourth time to win the high performance championship at Clifden while he’s won the Connie workers here four times and been reserve three or four times. He also won the ridden championship three or four times,” said Co Wicklow’s Devlin Byrne who very successfully combines riding with her career as a teacher.

“This year, Fernando won his qualifier at the Sports Pony Challenge at Killossery and will do the final of that and he was fourth in his working hunter final at NIF. I won’t do too much with him as I have young Draughts and Connies, both flat and performance, to get out and hopefully qualify them for Dublin.” Sadly, Blackwood Fernando is too old for the Dublin qualifiers but will be aimed at Clifden. “The tracks he jumped here – especially in the qualifier – were good, challenging tracks and, if a pony could cope with them here, they should be fine at Clifden.”

For the record, Oranmore exhibitor Marjorie Hardiman’s eight-year-old Silver Shadow mare Creganna Kerfuffle finished second in the qualifier under the owner/breeder’s daughter Lara Field. The reserve champion Connemara working hunter was the riders under 16 class winner, Rathbane Legend. This 14-year-old Tulira Robuck gelding was partnered for his Belfast owner, Cathy McGimpsey, by her daughter Eva.

Making her Balmoral debut as a judge, Ballinasloe’s Patricia Hoey assessed the Connemaras in their jumping phase (jumping, style and way of going) leaving phase two (manners, performance, conformation, movement and breed type) to another Royal Ulster Agricultural Society debutant, Galway’s Peter O’Malley.