TINAHELY’S Mary Rothwell may well have won the Sportsman (Amateur) hunter championship in Ring 1 at the Dublin Horse Show last Saturday evening on her own middle/heavyweight class winner Greenhall Stroll In The Park, but don’t for one minute think this could be anything but a family success. All were acknowledged for their input.

“Dad (Derry) was groom in the ring, my sister Sharon did just about everything else with ‘Stroller’, her son Stephen constantly fed the horse sugar lumps and mam (Emily) kept all of us humans fed at the show. I would also like to thank Rachel Welham who did the brilliant plaiting,” said the delighted owner/rider. One person who has learnt to keep out of the way (a good trick), but was at the RDS as a supporter, was Rothwell’s boyfriend Paul Healy.

As I was there that day, I know Mary, a secondary school teacher in Carnew, purchased the now seven-year-old Irish Draught gelding herself as a foal in Cavan in 2017. The Millhollow Stroller grey was bred in Co Leitrim by Padraig Fitzpatrick out of Benbo Hero (by Grosvenor Lad).

“He has very little mileage up, as there were no shows because of Covid when he was four,” said Rothwell of her champion. “He went to three shows when he was five, including here at Dublin where he was fifth. Last year, because I was correcting summer exam papers, we only did one show so this year, I decided to correct Easter exams instead, which has given us the time to prepare for Dublin. I get flat lessons from Pippa Tegan, which I find very helpful.”

Waterford’s Deirdre Kinsella stood reserve in this Sportsman championship on her lightweight class winner, the Margaret Gilpin-bred ISH gelding Tullyroan Cracker. Now 18 years of age, the chesnut son of Diamond Cracker has been travelling the country this season, recording great results in amateur classes at such venues as Cavan (Northern Ireland Festival) and Tattersalls Ireland (July Show).