IT’s hard to believe in this day and age, but little is known, or made known, about the breeding of most of the cobs who took over Ring 2 on the Friday afternoon of this year’s Dublin Horse Show, although some didn’t stay in long, being asked to leave quite quickly.

What we do know about Penny McClean’s champion, Penanns Lola May, who won the lightweight class, is that she is produced in Co Armagh by rider Katie Crozier and that the four-year-old dun mare, who is registered with Leisure Horse Ireland, is by a blue-eyed cream stallion out of an Irish Draught mare.

Ryan Anderson finished second in that 19-strong class on Lindy Winship’s Codeword, a seven-year-old chesnut gelding, who also filled the runner-up spot at Balmoral in May.

“Penny, whose Penanns Stud is outside Castlewellan, bought ‘Lola’ as a three-year-old and sent her to Rachel Baird at her River Lodge Stables (Newry) to break and get going,” revealed Crozier. “Rachel had her popping a few poles and doing a bit of cross-country when I met Penny one day and she talked about showing the mare.

“I got her after Balmoral and we did three shows: Enniskillen, where we were second, and Ardnacashel, where the cob was reserve ridden champion to my small hunter Darrowby Cougar, and can’t think where the other was! She is for sale, but we’d be happy to keep her and go to Balmoral with her next year and do some HOYS qualifiers.”

Reserve champion

The reserve champion was the heavyweight class winner Hollyrock Cooper Jack, a palomino gelding owned by English exhibitor Susan Tennant, whose Brian Clinghan-bred Irish Sport Horse gelding Mulberry Lane, a nine-year-old chesnut son of OBOS Quality 004, won the Barberstown Castle supreme ridden horse championship at this year’s Royal International Horse Show under Craig Kiddier.

Although eight, Hollyrock Cooper Jack only started his showing career last year, when he won his class at Balmoral and was second in Dublin. Ridden in his class here by Brian Murphy and in the championship by Aimee Stunt, he may be aimed at some HOYS qualifiers in the next month, although he is on the market.

Jamie Smyth finished second in that heavyweight cob class with Debbie Harrod’s Highview Quickstep, a six-year-old black gelding, who won his class at Balmoral, where he was reserve champion cob.

The maxi class was won by the four-year-old, Darrowby Bacchus, who was ridden for Declan O’Neill by Gwen Scott. The grey gelding took the red ahead of Peaky Blinder, the Irish Draught gelding by Rockrimmon Silver Diamond, who is owned by Pat Loughlin and his sister Perle O’Rourke. The now 12-year-old multiple champion is ridden and produced by Brian Murphy, who stuck with the grey for the championship.

Peaky Blinder and Murphy won the maxi class at Balmoral, where Scott and Darrowby Bacchus finished fourth. O’Neill’s inexperienced gelding has come on a lot since then.