MOST of the country’s top producers of young event horses, and some from further afield, were at Millstreet last week to contest the two National Eventing Discovery classes which were supported by a Horse Sport Ireland breeding grant.

The section judges were Ireland’s Dane Rawlins and Britain’s Jane Tolley who commented: “I was extremely impressed with the quality and production of the 12 qualifiers, all of whom look to have a future in the sport. The top three in both classes showed great potential having exceptional technique over a fence and great aptitude on the flat.”

The four-year-old final was comprehensively won by Waterford’s Ciara Power with her own Irish Sport Horse gelding Stonehavens Dreaming who completed on 96 points, 12 points clear of his nearest rival, the Jessica O’Driscoll-partnered SDF Five Star, an ISH gelding by Big Star.

The winner, a bay by Querlybet Hero, was bred out of the Jack Of Diamonds mare Ballinamona Park Jody by Vahe and David Bogossian from whom Power’s partner, Johnny Widger, purchased the gelding at the end of last year. “They had told Johnny that the horse was mega talented and, when he went to see him, the horse did everything he could to sell himself,” said Power.

“He had been started and was ready to sit on when we got him. Sometimes you can forget that he is just a four-year-old he finds things so easy. He did a few training shows at Wexford Equestrian and Ballinamona but Millstreet was his first real outing in public. He’ll have a bit of a break now while we decide what to do with him but he’s really a horse for next year.”

Five-year-old final

It was a lot tighter at the top of the five-year-old final where the first three all received 10 points for potential.

The winner was the Kelley Hutchinson-owned and ridden HSH Look At Me (95) who was bringing up a longterm double having landed the younger title last season. Purchased by Hutchinson as a two-year-old, the ISH gelding by Ringwood Cassero was bred in Co Limerick by Erika Leonard out of Ringwood Golden Secret (by Tinarana Goldwave).

“HSH Look At Me went superbly last year to win the qualifier and final after which we did some unregistered shows and events,” said Co Kilkenny-based Hutchinson. “He finished up the year jumping at the Breeders’ Classic and HSI development show jumping series. I was in the US until the end of April so this was his first outing of 2023. He has matured massively and showed beautifully to again win the qualifier and final.

“I absolutely love these Discovery Classes. Millstreet is one of my absolute favourite competitions of the year so I try to take part every time, whether it be in a young horse class or an FEI competition. The courses are very fairly built and there is always a different top professional judging. The feedback from top level ground juries is massively helpful for the producers of young event horses. It shows how highly the class is thought of with some of the International competitors travelling over opting to bring their young horses with them.

“The exposure the young horses get from being immersed in the FEI atmosphere is invaluable,” continued Hutchinson who has an excellent record in these Millstreet classes. “This year the qualifier was held in show jumping ring two at 2pm on the Friday which was a great success and saw even larger amounts of spectators and prospective buyers watching. The final was then held in the Main Arena on Sunday morning when it was live-streamed worldwide which was brilliant. The course was very encouraging and inviting for the younger horses with a nice variety of show jumping and cross-country questions.”

Making her mark on the running stage these days as well as making a return to eventing at unaffiliated fixtures, show jumper Michelle Kenny once again had to settle for the runner-up slot with River Lodge Equestrian’s ISH gelding Dreamworks (94), a son of Celtic Hero BZ.