LOUISE Lyons was never going to be bested by her children, so it was little surprise to see her win the horse working hunter championship in Ring 2, as the 2024 Dublin Horse Show drew to a close last Sunday evening.

Lyons claimed the title on the older middle/heavyweight class winner, Lady Perdita Blackwood’s Irish Draught gelding Clandeboye, a six-year-old Scrapman grey, who finished third in the same class last August to the then champion, Ballymacbrennan Merdios.

The reserve champion, who had a busy few days, was another Irish Draught, Dermot Molloy’s chesnut King Vinny gelding Two Mile Nigel, who won the four-year-old class in the hands of Diarmuid Ryan. That very busy rider also won the five and six-year-old lightweight class on board Ian Williams’ 2018 Kiltybane Naldo grey, Ballyrussell Misty, another pure Irish Draught. Here, Lyons finished second on her home-bred Orestus mare, Dartans Red Mission.

An absolutely delighted Emma Sweeney won the seven-year-old and upwards lightweight class on Tim Collins’ liver chesnut ISH gelding Killaloe Lance, an 11-year-old son of Lancelot out of an Ard VDL Douglas mare.

Determined

Co Tipperary exhibitor Simon Probin headed to the sales in Goresbridge two years ago, determined not to buy a filly, a grey or a three-year-old. His purchase that day, the now five-year-old grey mare Stillbrook Lizzie, won the opening well-filled Traditional Irish Horse class in the hands of Tom Hayden. Connections are aiming their winner at the Michael Leonard CCI1*-Intro for five and six-year-olds in Ballindenisk at the end of next month.

The fences there are sure to be more substantial than those at Dublin. I’d be hard pressed to describe some of the natural ‘poles’ jumped last Sunday as anything more than twigs – you’d surely expect your horse to burst through them out hunting.

The prize fund for these classes was supported by HSI and DAFM.