EXHIBITORS travel from all corners of the island by land - and even by sea, in the case of Inisbofin’s Kitty Concannon - to shows. Athlone’s central location was a huge advantage for many last Sunday, when another batch of Dublin qualifiers was decided.

The perfect antidote to last week’s major news story came in the form of Dingle Bay and his elated owner Sadhbh Gannon, when this pair not only topped the Dublin Racehorse to Riding Horse qualifier, but also qualified for the ladies’ side-saddle class too.

From Westport, where she works in a dog daycare centre, Sadhbh rides out once a week at Ballinrobe-based trainer Michael Flannery’s racing yard.

“That’s where I originally met and rode out Dingle Bay (Floyd), when he was still in training there back in 2020. Dingle Bay was a horse I loved working with in Mike’s yard. He started his racing career with Jessica Harrington and was moved from there to Michael. He had 12 starts on the flat in Ireland with little success.

“I always liked the look of Dingle Bay and thought he was a decent mover and could have potential to make a nice riding horse. I particularly loved his gentle nature,” added Sadhbh about the Alhebeyab eight-year-old.

“We’re going to Dublin!” The Mayo pair of Dingle Bay and Sadhbh Gannon and Kristian Goingwel with Niamh Kelly after topping the well-supported Racehorse to Riding Horse qualifier \ Susan Finnerty

“In November 2020, I jumped at the opportunity to take him from Mike once he decided to finally retire him from racing. Mike very kindly gifted Dingle Bay to me, as he felt it was important for him go to a good home.”

Two of the first to congratulate Gannon were Niamh Kelly, from Ballinrobe, who finished second in the Racehorse to Riding Horse qualifier with Kristian Goingwell (Beneficial) and delighted onlooker Janet Harvey.

“The connection to Janet is that she has been a good friend of mine for many years now. I first met her when I was 10 and I’m now 26. She has been there every step of the way with me and my ‘horse career’.

“I’m so lucky to have someone like her to help me and to have always shown such interest in everything I’ve done with the horses.”

Breeders’ Championship

Another Dublin-bound Mayo exhibitor is John McDonnell, who topped The Irish Field Breeders’ Championship show jumping section. While numbers were low to average in the opening broodmare and foal classes, there were 12 entries in this opening section, compared to just two last year.

Athlone was the lucky qualifier venue last year for Bridget Devanney, whose Emme and Hardrock VDL colt, shown by Des McDonnell and son Paul, went on to win the show jumping final at Dublin.

Last Sunday, it was Des’ brother John, who topped Philip Copithorne and Denis McGrath’s line-up with his CBI Ice Queen (Baltic VDL) and her sixth foal for their Killala owner: a Vancouver filly.

Also qualifying after a seven-year sabbatical from the showring was local breeder Sinead Fenton with her Galway Bay Amele (Mermus R) and her All Road Z filly, reserve champion foal earlier in the morning to Adrian Shoer’s Sir Jim Jim colt. (Sinead and more of this year’s Breeders’ Championship finalists, will feature in upcoming weeks of the Breeders’ 10 series).

In the eventing section, Copithorne and McGrath selected Richard Gildea’s Miss Cranny Lancelot (Lancelot) and her foal by the 2022 Croker Cup champion Gibeon and another making her Dublin return appearance: Derry Rothwell’s Greenhall Push Button (Financial Reward) and her Cavalier Land foal.

The judges felt the standard was “very high with plenty of quality” in both qualifiers.

“There’s a wide range of age there in the foals, there’s ones from a couple of weeks to early on in the year. You don’t want them too strong and you don’t want them too young either,” observed Copithorne.

The same combination also judged the lucrative Pipelife Irish Draught broodmare championship, won by Amy Bohan’s Gortfadda Heigh Ho (Heigh Ho Dubh) and her Inisfree The Iron Cross colt, Gortfadda’s Grail’s Delight.

Reserve champion in this combination championship was Swinford owner Dominic Cassidy’s Holy River (Inisfree The Holy Grail) and her Irish Draught champion colt foal, Young Gortfree (Gortfree Hero).

Champion mare in the Irish Draught section, judged by Kenny Bell and George Chapman, was Louise Noone’s Crusheen Breeze (Coolcronan Wood), who has clocked up several red rosettes this summer since making a return to the showring.

Marcus and Emma Donnellan were another to double up on a Father’s Day outing to Athlone Show, when they took the reserve Irish Draught champion title with their Miss Suileen Bouncer (Moylough Bouncer).

Coincidentally, in the week that the Green Party leader Eamon Ryan TD stepped down, the Draught title sponsor Pipelife is a renewable heating company celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Mayo magic

The Father’s Day and ‘Mayo magic’ theme continued in the young horse classes.

Like the earlier broodmare and foal classes, these were judged by a north-south combination of Diane Gibson and Seamus Lehane.

It was a weekend tour for Tiernan and Alex Gill, who the previous day were at the Showing Show of the Year at Mullingar Equestrian Centre. The young horse champion the previous day was their two-year-old gelding Flogas Syb (Calvino Z), ahead of his travelling companion Frenchfort Kildysart Lady (Chelis HC Z), owned by Pat Finn.

Reserve young horse champion at Athlone last year, Flogas Syb retained that title for a second year. And the champion? Frenchfort Kildysart Lady, a two-year-old filly bred by Gerard Grace.

Athlone Double: Tiernan and Alex Gill with the young horse champion Frenchfort Kildysart Lady, owned by Pat Finn pictured with grandson Aaron and reserve: Flogas Syb \ Susan Finnerty

Over in the Connemara rings, Cabra Jane (Hillside Joker) retained her 2023 in-hand Connemara champion title for her Clifden owners, Bryan and Niamh O’Halloran. Connemaras featured again in the supreme pony championship, won by Kitty Concannon and Bridgo’s Knight (Glencarrig Knight), from Inisbofin off the Cleggan coast.

“I had done the Scarteen Dublin qualifiers on the Saturday and had to leave ‘Bofin on Friday, got home Saturday night so Maria Gorham groomed Sunday. It’s not too bad for Athlone from Cleggan, after Tullylish, it’s a breeze!” said her mother Nikola, who had to bypass Sunday’s outing, as the family’s Cleggan-Inisbofin ferry service was busy with Father’s Day trippers.

Their frequent flyer ‘bus pass’ comes in handy for the pair, who are based in Cleggan for most of the show season. “‘Cloudy’ will be back to ‘Bofin for a break next month. Kitty’s arena is on ‘Bofin, so she schools the ponies on the beautiful beach of Rossadillisk.”

Inisbofin’s Kitty Concannon and Bridgo’s Knight's commute paid off, with the Athlone supreme pony title \ Susan Finnerty

Sunday’s weather was mostly a touch of sunburn-inducing sunshine, combined with some heavy showers in the evening, as the last of the ridden classes wrapped up. Bottles of Lucozade and Haribo sweets were amongst the thoughtful items in each ring’s lunch cooler and that energy boost was surely required by ridden horse judges, Polly Holohan and Aubrey Chapman, plus their equally excellent ring steward, Brian Egan.

The supreme ridden championship finished at 8.30pm, however next year, a dedicated Dublin ring is a possible runner for the entire range of RDS qualifiers.

These include the ladies’ and intermediate side-saddle qualifiers, won this year by Beechdale Jaygo and Tara Kinsella (ladies), plus Toberpatrick Ruby (Megan Connell) from the intermediates section.

In the John McCann-sponsored working hunter horse championship, this title went to Janice Mulligan’s Ferro River Breeze (Creevagh Ferro). Bought last year at Goresbridge, the eight-year-old was having his third outing with Sarah Maxwell.

“We did our first working hunter in Ballivor, finished second in the open and called it a day to save ourselves for Athlone and it paid off! We have Dublin in our sights in August, as he fully deserves to show what he’s capable of on the big stage.”

Ferro River Breeze, the Athlone working hunter champion and Sarah Maxwell \ Susan Finnerty

In the overall supreme championship for the Francis Derwin Memorial Cup, the judges opted for Aughrim Stables’ Keith Martin and Kate Boyce’s home-bred The Masterstroke.

The maxi cob class winner, produced by Kate, won the ridden horse championship, ahead of William McMahon aboard Gleann Rua Wordsworth (Young Carrabawn) and the judges’ choice order remained the same in the overall supreme.

“He has a lovely outlook and a serious mover, so I think he’s a special one for the future,” commented Chapman, who it turned out shares the same birthday (July 2nd) as the supreme champion.

“He has the wow factor. He has ‘look at me’ and he absolutely floats, he’s so light on his feet,” agreed Holohan, who competed at European, world and Olympics level eventing.

By Martin’s own stallion Granite Hero, bred on Crannagh Hero and Silver Granite bloodlines, this was the five-year-old’s first showring outing.

“His grandmother was a Creggan Diamond-Sunny Light Grade A mare that my brother used to show jump. And didn’t she get covered with a neighbour’s cob stallion and so I kept the filly foal, his mother. I have all his siblings and she has a foal again this year,” said Keith.

“He came out here today for his first day, never anywhere else. And the plan was to give him a day or two, then advertise him,” added Martin, who hadn’t planned on entering Dublin for his Athlone supreme surprise package.

Overall, the 40-acre site on Michael Donoghue’s farm worked well and a free shuttle bus from Athlone town centre brought in the crowds. The one area that needs the most tweaking is the permanent issue of shows nationwide: late entries and entries on the day.

“It’s mine!” Nicola Crosby’s family pony champion Springbrook Chime claims his prize \ Susan Finnerty

What they said

“If Carlsberg did weekends, this one definitely has topped it. Champion foal Saturday at Mullingar Show of the Year, first in the filly foal class, qualified for the All-Ireland final at Moate and then booked a Breeder’s golden ticket to the RDS! Sometimes big dreams do become a reality. We are not show people, it was our first weekend to show a mare and foal in almost seven years.”

Sinead Fenton

“As a child, I used to love watching the Racehorse to Riding Horse and the side-saddle classes at the Dublin Horse Show in particular, as I thought they were such a spectacle and I admired the riders.

“To say that qualifying an ex-racehorse I retrained myself for the Racehorse to Riding Horse class in Dublin is a dream come true is a complete understatement. But to also qualify Dingle Bay for the ladies’ side-saddle class the same day was just the most incredible experience and I can’t wait to make the journey to Dublin with Dingle Bay in August.”

Sadhbh Gannon

“The standard was excellent today. Our champion [Frenchfort Kildysart Lady] was one of those horses that don’t often come around to see because she was perfect in every way. She had beautiful conformation, beautifully level, great rhythm, great balance. And first and foremost, the one you’re looking for: quality.

“The reserve [Flogas Syb] was again a lovely, lovely mover. He had excellent bone, lovely conformation, flat bone, lovely flat knees. But he could put it all together and use himself from behind to propel himself forward, which is very important whenever you’re going to ride those horses under saddle. They’re propelling themselves from behind and that’s where the real engine is. It’s not all about a [flashy] front leg.”

Diane Gibson

“He [Ferro River Breeze] came with a long list of instructions, but we took to each other like a duck to water. He tries his best for me and our hard work is paying off!”

Sarah Maxwell