FOURTH in the Connolly’s Red Mills ridden horse final on his mother Mairead’s IJ Winsome, Ivan Ryan won the Wicklow Show’s own hunter championship on the traditionally-bred Irish Sport Horse gelding Creevaghstables Masterplan.

Owned by the rider’s father Kieran Ryan and Ned Cash, the chesnut son of Scrapman was purchased as a three-year-old from Co Clare’s Tommy Considine (hence the Creevaghstables prefix). He was bred in Co Westmeath by Pat Gavin out of the Master Imp mare Princess Boo.

Now seven, the lightly-shown Creevaghstables Masterplan was slow to come to hand, but made an immediate impression this season when crowned middleweight champion at Balmoral Show. On Sunday, section judges Jessica O’Brien (ride) and John O’Brien (conformation) first had the gelding topping their final line-up in the middle/heavyweight class, ahead of the Tania Heffernan-owned and ridden Irish Draught gelding First Whip, a five-year-old chesnut by First Frank.

The reserve champion, and winner of the small hunter class, was the Shane McKenna-ridden Kamala m2s, a five-year-old Imnotafraid Fortuna mare, who was second in her small riding horse class at Balmoral and at Dublin last August.

Also through to Sunday’s championship as winners were Aubrey Chapman’s owner-ridden traditionally-bred Knockbrown Wizard Of Oz, a Killountain Cross gelding who won the four-year-old class, and Becky Rafter’s owner-ridden seven-year-old Pollux de Muze Z gelding Cal Master de Muze who won the lightweight class.

Working Hunter

Some well-known, established combinations contested the working hunter classes, which were also judged by the O’Briens. The first of their class winners was the Amanda Benson-owned and ridden Irish Draught gelding Ballingeary Buster, an 11-year-old by Luke Skywalker (amateur).

Louise Lyons had a choice to make before the championship decider, as she rode two winners. The first, in the novice class, was her home-bred ISH mare Dartans Ladybird, a five-year-old bay by Courage II, out of her eventing mare Red Light (by Cavalier Royale). The second was Lady Perdita Blackwood’s six-year-old Scrapman gelding Clandeboye, who topped the line-up in the Irish Draught class.

The busy Ciara O’Connor must have fancied her chances of claiming the title when winning the open class with her aunt Sharon O’Connor’s home-bred ISH gelding Ashfield Rio, the Dignified van’t Zorgvliet bay on whom she won the five-year-old section of the Dubarry Burghley young event horse qualifier at Millstreet and with whom she has qualified for the young event horse class at Dublin.

The champion working hunter horse was Clandeboye, ridden by Louise Lyons at the Wicklow Hunt Show \ Louise O'Brien Photography

However, it was not to be, as it was Clandeboye who gave his owner an early birthday present by being crowned champion under Lyons, while the second in the open class, the Irish Draught stallion Gortfree Lakeside Lad, ridden by Linda Murphy for Sean Barker, stood reserve.

Sadhbh O’Connor from Co Kildare, who featured in a Dublin Horse Show video on social media this week, won the ridden horse championship, judged by Megan Connell (ride) and Kathy Geoghegan (conformation), on her mother Aoife’s coloured class winner, Ashlea’s Grand Finale, a six-year-old skewbald gelding by Co-Pilot. Jennifer Kennedy stood reserve with her riding horse class winner, Assagart Angel, a nine-year-old Kings Master gelding, who was traditionally-bred by Michael Roche out of the Nordic Brave mare, Nordic Dream.

While there was disappointment for Ciara O’Connor in the horse working hunter championship, her cousin, Jessica Murphy, claimed the pony equivalent on her mother Jessica’s French-bred gelding Darcy De Chanteloube, the 12-year-old Rotspons Prince bay, who won the Intermediate class.

A report on the Treo Eile Tattersalls Ireland showing pathway racehorse to riding horse qualifiers can be found on page 88.