PLANS - announced last week - for the proposed €2 billion Cork-Limerick motorway could not be fast-tracked soon enough for Charleville Show attendees. Some got snagged in the weekend tailbacks, others would have walked home happy after their Charleville ribbons.

Charleville - one of the few remaining two-day agricultural shows in Ireland - is a massive event and its wide range of qualifiers, including the penultimate Breeders’ Championship qualifiers, proved a major draw on Sunday.

Plus, the opportunities to have visiting UK judges cast their collective eye over entries and tackling the famous Charleville working hunter track were further incentives.

It was good to see former show secretary Eleanor Fleming in top form in the secretary’s tent, helped out by her three grandchildren home from Kentucky.

One familiar face missing this year was secretary Elaine Goold, whose daughter was competing on an Irish Pony Club team in Gloucestershire last weekend. An opportunity not to be missed and Charleville’s enviable backroom team, headed by Susie Roche, simply stepped up another gear in her absence.

That one factor even Charleville cannot guarantee is the weather and the weekend provided alternate days of showers and sunshine.

Saturday, when the ringside was lined by dryrobe-clad supporters, is always ‘pony day’ at Charleville. The highlight is the evening’s supreme pony championship finale, when the hardy hopefuls gather before the combined judge’s panel of Caroline Basnett Hall, Nathan Deakin, Eleanor Lyttle, Beverly Moore and Daniel Park to decide the overall title.

Rewind to the morning, when Rachel Lane’s Barkway State Affair, champion pony at Newcastle West the previous weekend, became the very first contender for Charleville supreme honours.

The bay booked his place after winning the show pony championship, now selected from the one show pony class remaining in the schedule. Second in that class, and therefore the reserve show pony champion, was Rachel O’Doherty’s Diamand Anfrody, the Dutch-bred cremello dressage pony on loan with Rachel’s daughter, Helena (Nina).

Another ‘loan pony’ that has done the rounds is Marjorie Hardiman’s very smart coloured pony Creganna Dancer, back in the showring again after ‘mare-ternity’ duties.

Her latest jockey is young Amber Lane, who built up a collection of sashes last Saturday as the championships progressed, starting with that show pony title with Barkway State Affair. Creganna Dancer then added the starter stakes and working hunter titles to her Charleville collection.

Charleville Show’s Eleanor Fleming with Amber Lane and Creganna Dancer, winners of several pony titles at last Saturday’s show \ Susan Finnerty

Reserve starter stakes champion was another schoolmaster saint in the Ruttle family’s foot-perfect Bronheulog Sunny Boy, out on loan to young Ella Moran.

The reserve working hunter champion was the home-bred Gooseberry Hill Cruise for Zara Burke-Ott, who learned that, regardless of the blue rosette from their intermediate class, every championship starts afresh and, much to her surprise, the pair were called forward as reserve. “Her dam Gooseberry Hill Countess was also born here [at Valley View Equestrian Centre],” said Zara’s mother Janet.

“Gooseberry Hill Cruise (Cherry) was broken and started by me, hunting with the Duhallow Foxhounds and doing various unaffiliated competitions. Zara decided to compete her one day and I never got her back!”

The pair competed up to three-star level and no prizes for guessing who Zara will be cheering on at Paris, as she brought Cherry with her to the UK for three years, while she was a working pupil with Austin O’Connor.

Incidentally, Kate Jarvey, the breeder of O’Connor’s Colorado Blue aiming for their second Olympics, celebrated her birthday this week. A great supporter of Charleville Show, among the classes she sponsors are the family pony classes, which brought out hardy next generation jockeys in Saturday’s showers.

Home-bred winner

The Creganna prefix appeared again in the list of champions when Creganna Kerfuffle (Silver Shadow) was another home-bred winner at Charleville. The versatile Connemara won the Mountain and Moorland working hunter title for Lara Field and the ridden Connemara title went to Evie Kennedy’s Blackwoodland Prince (Glencarrig Prince).

Earlier in the morning, the in-hand Connemara championship was won by another offspring of Cashel Bobby, herself the Charleville supreme pony champion six years ago. Last Saturday, it was Seán Ó Conaire’s three-year-old filly Ballywilliam Belle (Bunowen Paddy) that matched her half-brother Ballywilliam Melody’s Connemara title win here in 2023.

Ballywilliam Belle also won the Horse Sport Ireland Connemara mare class, which attracted a good entry. Overall, some class numbers were dented by the various Dublin qualifiers and upcoming Pony Club camps, with the smallest entries seen in the pony breeding and Welsh classes.

It’s a similar story across the shows, however, Saoirse Keohane was delighted to win the Tianora Cup with her youngstock champion Breenybeg Diana (Whalton Dilettante).

One pure-bred Welsh on view was the reserve mini champion, the charming roan Carwgwyn Finality with owner Imelda Lynch’s young daughter Nicole aboard. The Charleville mini champion for a second year was Orla Whelton’s Whiteleaze Secret Temptation.

Sponsor Joe Carroll with the Charleville reserve supreme champion Whiteleaze Secret Temptation and Stephanie Fleming \ Susan Finnerty

Last year, the part-bred Welsh mare won the lead rein class ridden by Stephanie Fleming, Orla’s daughter. This year, the pair graduated to the first year first ridden class, where their win booked their supreme championship place.

The UK judges bring that touch of pageantry to the supreme championship with Oorla Cusack’s Tiger Eye, produced by Jodie Moran and Whiteleaze Secret Temptation beckoned forward with a flourish as supreme and reserve supreme.

Keeping Track: Oorla Cusack and her daughter Sophie with the Charleville supreme champion Tiger Eye, a surprise purchase last December \ Susan Finnerty

Tiger Eye had won the intermediate show hunter class with Sophie Cusack. “Sophie is 14 and only started showing last year, when we went to a clinic at Jodie’s and she was hooked straightaway,” said her proud mother afterwards.

“Her pony Kinvara, a grey Connemara, is her ‘heart pony’. He has qualified this year for both the ridden Connemara and 143cm working hunter class in Dublin Horse Show, so we are very excited.

“Tiger Eye is a very special boy and he is with us since December, their journey together is just beginning and lastly, our baby ‘Connie’, Robyn Hood (Glencarrig Knight) did himself proud at his first show, winning his in-hand class and standing reserve [in-hand Connemara] champion!”

An exceedingly handsome champion

SOME birthday girls buy a handbag, Alice Copithorne bought herself a horse and that birthday treat repaid his owner last Sunday, with the Charleville supreme horse title.

The north Cork fixture is firmly regarded as a good place to test the waters before Dublin and both quality and quantity were the theme of the day.

Now in its second year, the Charleville supreme ridden horse championship sees the flat and working hunter champion hopefuls gather for the finale.

Charleville Banker: Alice Copithorne’s ‘birthday present’ Kipling atop the famous Charleville bank after winning the working hunter title before finishing the day as the supreme champion horse \ Susan Finnerty

The presence-to-burn Kipling had already had his ‘spotlight moment’, posing on top of the Charleville bank, the now-customary backdrop for the working hunter champion photographs. The reserve working hunter champion was Maeve Carty’s Birchill Pianoman (Atlantic Cruise), who also competes in SJI classes.

Kipling was later called forward as the overall supreme and the second name on the Dick Johnson Trophy, named after the Golden Vale vet, who was the ‘voice of Charleville’ for many years. The reserve title went to Aidan Ryan’s four-year-old class winner Mr Venture Elm (Newmarket Venture), bred by Seamus Murphy.

This Tipperary combination had won the ridden hunter championship, ahead of Deirdre Burchill’s lightweight winner Ballard Bridgeboy (Condios), a result that booked both their places in the supreme showdown.

Two more contenders from the ridden horse championship were the busy Mr Bloomfield (Gortfree Hero), bred by Peter McHugh, notching up Charleville wins for a third successive year for owner Lyndsey O’Brien and the reserve ridden horse champion: Rachel Deane’s West Coast Darley.

Multi-talented

“I’ve been working with Kipling since he was a three-year-old for his breeder Una O’Donnell, who has helped me with my dressage for years, especially with the horses for the young event horse classes,” a delighted Alice said afterwards.

“Nothing was done with him as a four-year-old to give him a chance to develop. As a five-year-old, I competed him in the young event horse final in Dublin, where he finished eighth and he won the five/six-year-old workers in Balmoral this year out of 48 horses.

“He’s eventing successfully and I hope to continue up the levels with him,” she added about the Imperial Tiger-Ghareeb traditional-bred.

Alice’s father Philip and Denis McGrath had their penultimate The Irish Field Breeders’ Championship qualifier to judge at Charleville and put four more combinations forward.

Thistletown Stud’s Eileen Furlong’s journey from Campile paid off when her Foxglen Cruise Control mare Bonnie and her Z7 Ascot colt topped the show jumping section. It was ‘lucky Charleville’ again for the other finalists, as Gina Heaps had qualified her Carrowgar Je T’Aime, by the recent loss Je T’Aime Flamenco, and another Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve foal here last year, as had Richard Drohan in the eventing section.

The Waterford farmer qualified both his mares - his 2023 Dublin eventing section champion Golden Moments and her stable companion Miss Graceland - and their respective foals, by Island Commander and Move To Strike - last Sunday.

Richard Gildea with his Charleville foal champion: a Gibeon colt with his dam Miss Cranny Lancelot, shown by Jenny O’Driscoll \ Susan Finnerty

Earlier, Eleanor Lyttle, whose husband Jamie was the Charleville working hunter course designer, selected William Williamson’s Ballard Jewel (Ghareeb) as her broodmare champion. Reserve was Richard Gildea’s Cranny Miss Lancelot (Lancelot), whose Gibeon colt then stood champion over Ballard Jewel’s CC Captain Cruise filly in reserve.

Cormac O’Rourke judged the Horse Sport Ireland/DAFM broodmare class, selecting Margaret Jeffares’ Ballykelly Jasmine (Gortfree Hero) as his winner.

Cormac O’Rourke (judge) and Margaret Jeffares with her Ballykelly Jasmine, winner of the Horse Sport Ireland/DAFM broodmare class at Charleville Show \ Susan Finnerty

“I was told when I was asked to judge that my job would be hard and there was a high standard here in the Golden Vale - today proved that. It came down to a personal choice on the day. What you won last Sunday doesn’t matter. If that was the case [that last week’s winner is automatically entitled to win], who would go showing?” the Co Armagh judge commented afterwards.

“I think the prize money is a great incentive for owners and breeders and it’s great to see the class so well supported.”

With some UK shows offering £25 first prize, the scope of Irish prize money is a constant source of awe and amazement for visiting judges.

Charleville bucked the trend for low numbers in this summer’s young horse classes. Kevin McGuinness and ‘apprentice judge’ Jennifer Haverty selected Maurice Coleman’s three-year-old gelding Kilroe Gold (Lagans OBOS Quality) as their champion and the reserve was Kieran O’Gorman’s yearling filly Munther’s Miss Lux (Munther).

“Some of our classes were so well-filled and there was quality and strength in depth,” remarked McGuinness. “I think we had a lovely championship there at the end.”

Laura Hyde’s Corran Emperor (Emperor Augustus), Mary Davoren’s Castle Ivers Cruise and Niamh Kelly’s Kristian Goingwel (Beneficial) topped the Dublin ladies’ and intermediate side-saddle, plus the Racehorse To Riding Horse, qualifiers.

Liz Ryan and William O’Hanlon, who produce Kilroe Gold, with the Charleville young horse champion’s owner Maurice Coleman \ Susan Finnerty

What they said

“Myself and Oorla went to see Tiger Eye without telling Sophie. We had been to see a few that were disappointing and didn’t want to get her hopes up, so we made sure our phone locations were turned off. We headed off on the propeller aeroplane from Dublin, got an Uber to the middle of nowhere and met Tiger.

“John, Oorla’s husband, rang to say Sophie knew where we were, as she had tracked Oorla on her AirPods, so she’s forever known as ‘CSI Sophie!’”

Jodie Moran describes Operation Tiger Eye Purchase.

“We got caught in the traffic jam - moving along at 2km an hour - so I hopped out, [wife] Geraldine drove the jeep and I got changed in the horsebox!”

Paul Coffey’s showring-ready on arrival Plan B.

“It was always an ambition of ours to try and qualify Bonnie for the Breeders’ Championship and to do it on our first attempt was a dream come true.

“Our daughter Eimear has also qualified her mare Thistletown Rose Royale (Royal Concorde - Slaney Golden Cruise) for the intermediate working hunter class at Dublin Horse Show, so it will be a busy week.”

First-time Breeders’ Championship finalist Eileen Furlong.

“I bought Kipling in November as a birthday present to myself, as I like having a TIH horse to compete. I’m using shows to get him used to big atmospheres, as we don’t have these crowds eventing. He also really enjoys being in the spotlight!”

Alice Copithorne’s better-than-a-handbag birthday gift.