IN the absence of Thomastown Show, Newmarket-on-Fergus was the first of this summer’s agricultural shows. Held on its traditional May Bank Holiday Sunday date, the show field is overlooked by the Belvedere watchtower, built by local landlord Sir Edward O’Brien, from where he watched horse races held in the surrounding fields.

The racing enthusiast even named the local village after its British racing capital namesake and there were lots of interesting anecdotes and retro photos in this year’s special catalogue to mark the show’s 40th anniversary.

What were the entries pages like? For starters, with a shortage of volunteers to organise this section and a clash with the Northern Ireland Festival, there were no IPS classes this year, a prudent move by the committee who ran a popular family pony leadrein class.

Young horse entries were best in the yearling classes where Maurice Coleman and Liz Ryan selected their reserve young horse champion from Pat Finn’s Chelis HC Z filly out of the Lux Z dam Rusheen Lux.

Bred by Gerard Grace, she was produced for her Oranmore owner by Tiernan Gill, who had spotted her last Christmastime. Back then, he was delivering Flogas Oilily, (incidentally the young horse champion here last year) after she was bought by Finn with the aim of qualifying her for The Irish Field Breeders Championship.

“I sold Pat that black mare and then I saw this filly, I thought she was gorgeous and he sent her down to me at the end of February,” said Gill, one of the summer shows’ greatest supporters. “It was absolutely fantastic to be back at a show. I was looking forward to it for ages and it was lovely to see the same faces again. Balmoral, Dublin and the All Ireland filly final in Bridgetown are the plans for this one.”

Tiernan’s son Alex led the yearling winner in the championship, won by her stable companion Flogas Penelope, by the Kannan son Jardonnay. Balmoral-bound too, she was recently covered and the plan is to compete her as a five-year-old after her ‘baby break’. Although there was only two entries in the three-year-old filly class, John Burchill’s blue ribbon winner ABC Bobby Jean is another well-bred competition prospect as she is an embryo transfer daughter of the Pat Kehoe-bred Lanaken gold medallist ABC Saving Grace. “Funnily enough, we didn’t have a clue about any of that when we bought her as a foal at the sales. My parents went to Goresbridge looking for our next showing yearling, stumbled across her and just loved the look of her,” their daughter Deirdre revealed about this HHS Cornet filly.

“The sun shone on Newmarket-on-Fergus today as a fabulous display of young horses filled our eyes. The quantity and quality was exceptional for an early show,” Liz commented. “Looking over the shoulder of Maurice Coleman was both educational and inspiring, getting into the ring beside an astute judge and good friend is an investment in one’s knowledge. Maurice’s wealth of knowledge and passion for horses is heartening for the sport.”

Champion Connemara at Newmarket-on-Fergus Show, with the Belvedere Watchtower in the background, was Joe and Emer McNamara’s Lehid Ellen \ Susan Finnerty

Connemara honours

While there was no ridden horse championship for Aidan Ryan to judge at the end of nicely-filled classes, with some riders tuning up for Balmoral next week, there was a Connemara title to be decided by Noel Nee. He opted for his first and second prize winners from the three-year-old and over filly class with the championship going to Joe and Emer McNamara’s Lehid Ellen, by Glencarrig Prince and reserve to Eimear Coleman’s Clonberne Sandy.

Newmarket-on-Fergus is always a well-organised show but perhaps later starting times is a plan for agricultural shows to have more rings and classes still in progress for spectators and families, who generally arrive in the early afternoon, to watch.