WHILE many fixtures were cancelled last weekend, the fifth and final qualifier for next month’s Balmoral ‘Star of the Future’ performance horse championships went ahead on Sunday at Lusk Equestrian where, for the second time in the series, Caroline Bjoerk filled the role of judge.

“There were a few horses competing that were out the first day (at The Meadows) and they have definitely come on for the runs,” said Co Meath-based Bjoerk who, along with her husband Lars, was one of the founders of the Future Event Horse League, which has since morphed into the Young Eventhorse Series.

“There was nothing really wrong with them the first day, other than being fresh and probably not riding as well as one would have liked. It was windy on Sunday and some horses were spooking a bit, which was to be expected. I find it quite a difficult class to judge, as there is no set type, so you could have all types competing once they can jump.”

Six and seven-year-olds

The first and second in the six and seven-year-old class, who were already qualified, are definitely heading down the eventing route. However, rider Colin Halliday is among the very many disappointed that the Northern Region was unable to get the Eventing Ireland season underway today at Tyrella, where both horses, who have yet to compete under EI rules, were entered in the EI100.

Sunday’s winner, on a score of 86 marks, was the Irish Sport Horse gelding Powers, a six-year-old owned and bred by Colin and Orlagh Halliday’s near neighbours, Eileen Duggan and Brendan Hearty. The bay son of Colandro, who has amassed 52 Showjumping Ireland points, is out of the Belgian Warmblood mare Wannadou, a 1999 daughter of Cardano.

Owned by Orlagh Halliday and Grace O’Shaughnessy, the Traditional ISH gelding Codys Glasgow, who finished second (85 marks), was bred in Co Galway by Gabriel Mullins. The six-year-old Glasgow vant Merelsnest bay is out of the Pointilliste mare Slaney Pointillist, a half-sister to, among others, the OBOS Quality 004 gelding Slaney Cruise (CCI3*-L).

“At the start of the year, the plan was to qualify both horses for Millstreet, but that is pretty much up in the air at this point,” said Halliday, who won what was then the four-year-old young event horse class at Balmoral in 2018. That was with the Rosbotham family’s home-bred Valent mare Rosalent who, with her Cooley prefix, has certainly fulfilled the new billing for the class as a ‘Star of the Future’ under Britain’s Oliver Townend.

“It’s very difficult to make any plans at the moment with the weather and ground conditions,” continued Halliday. “While classes like these and arena eventing are great to get the horses out competing, it’s not the same as going cross-country on grass. I have a few other young horses to go eventing, but they are way behind where they should be at present.”

The qualifiers from Sunday’s class were the Lucy McIlroy-ridden Imperial Wonder (79 marks), the Eimear Donaghy-partnered TMS Freedom (77) and Imperfectly Perfect (76), who finished fifth in the hands of Rachel Finnegan.

Jonny Steele on Cosmic Dancer won the Five-year-old RUAS Balmoral performance horse qualifier at Lusk Equestrian \ Martin O’Neill

Five-year-olds

Also competing for one of his neighbours, Jonny Steele won the five-year-old class by a 14-point margin on board the previously-qualified ISH mare Cosmic Dancer (86 marks). This brown daughter of Lagans OBOS Quality is owned by Hannah Bayfield who, according to the Riverhill Stud-based rider, “lives half a mile up the road and she bought the mare from Billy Smyth, another neighbour half a mile up the road!”

Smyth bred Cosmic Dancer out of Cosmo Girl, is a half-sister to Lyndsey Wallace’s 2013 Dublin supreme hunter champion Redemption Ground (by Amiro M). The 2004 Limmerick mare has had a foal every year bar two, 2016 and 2020, since 2008.

Since foaling Sunday’s winner, Cosmo Girl has produced three colts, two by Road To Happiness and one last year by Jack The Robin, but these have been bred by Camilla Galloway (née Manningham-Buller).

Emma Jackson qualified in second on Roy Shields’ home-bred ISH mare Rockrimmon Legacy (72 marks), a Rockrimmon Senator bay with 45 SJI points. The other qualifying slots were filled by Amanda Goldsbury on Cooley Farms’ Castlefield Van D Man (69), a Jan Van Holland bay, and by Rachel Thompson with Philip Rosbotham’s Caroly grey Calvescot (67).

Jenny and Harold Lusk plus their hard-working team ran other classes on the day and are starting a series of three Sunday show jumping fixtures tomorrow.

Amanda Goldsbury on Castlefield Van D Man placed third and qualified in the Five-year-old RUAS Balmoral performance horse qualifier at Lusk Equestrian \ Martin O’Neill