TWO riders who were also competing in the show jumping section of the Tattersalls July Show on Tuesday won the Dubarry Burghley young event horse qualifiers judged by Joanne Jarden (dressage), Comdt John Ledingham (jumping) and Alastair Pim (conformation).

Four of the 33 entries failed to start in the four-year-old class which was won by Clare Abbott with the Irish Sport Horse MT Kenobis Touch (82.5 points), a Mullaghdrin Touch The Stars gelding. The bay was bred by the rider’s partner, Gareth Carlisle, who now shares ownership in the winner with David and Jacqueline Wright.

“MT Kenobis Touch, or Thumper as we call him, is absolutely wonderful,” said Abbott. “He is the ultimate model of an event horse with the most ‘can do’ temperament. He has so much trainability and talent. We’ve taken him slowly and are thrilled to have the support from his new joint-owners David and Jacqueline Wright to be able to keep him and produce him further.

“The class at Tatts was his first proper show. We had the Burghley qualifier as his goal, he performed as we had hoped and yes, we are going to travel over for the final. I’ve been twice before with Glenkeeran River and Hamada. Thumper’s seven-year-old full-brother MT Star Lux won Dublin as a three-year-old and Gareth sold him later to Jessie Drea for Michael Duffy to ride (he also rode the sire).

“I am competing his half-sister MT Luxaan (by Cazann) who was fourth in the five-year-old HSI Studbook final at Tatts on Wednesday; she is qualified for Dublin. His full-brother, MT Diacontina, who Gareth still owns, has qualified for the three-year-old loose jumping at Dublin. Breeder of the month beckons perhaps?”

John Bannon has a talent for these classes and he qualified in second and third with the ISH gelding You And Me (80), who is by Kingdom out of a Colourfield mare, and the ISH filly Take Your Chance (80), who is by Orestus out of a Cavalier Royale mare. You And Me qualified at Tullymurry for the young event horse class at Dublin.

“I’m meant to be in Portugal then celebrating my second wedding anniversary but I’m definitely going to Burghley!” said Bannon, a locally-based auctioneer and valuer who hunts with the Ward Union, co-hosts of this show along with Tattersalls Ireland and Rolestown Show. “I can always head out to Portugal the next day.”

Win for Daniels

For a long time, it looked as if Noel Dunne had won the five-year-old qualifier on Richard Ames’ highly-regarded Kief Rhapsody (83 points), the Stepping Stones league and final winner, with Nicky Roncoroni qualifying in second on her own and Margaret Fennell’s ISH filly Dermish OBI (82.5), a bay by OBOS Quality 004 out of a Cavalier Royale mare.

However, late in the day, Cathal Daniels, who had been competing in the show jumping section, arrived down with Orlaith Delamere’s Only Browsing who completed on the same score as Kief Rhapsody but, with the results system taking over, was declared the winner. Unless sold before then, this ISH gelding by OBOS Quality 004 will be heading to Burghley according to his owner and is on the market.

“I bought this horse unbroken out of the Cavan Premier three-year-old sale in August 2021,” related Delamere. “David Browne from Co Kerry bred him out of a Maltstriker mare. He’s the first horse I’ve broken and produced from scratch so I’m delighted with the way he is progressing and he feels very classy.

“He did the four-year old RDS qualifiers last year which was a great schooling ground for him. I turned him out for the second half of the year to give him a break. He’s been very lightly campaigned this season so far and so it was fantastic to see the groundwork done at home paying off in the ring in Tatts.”

Dunne is also planning to compete at Burghley on the ISH gelding Kief Rhapsody. This brown son of Sligo Candy Boy, who is out of a Lux Z mare, qualified at Forth Mountain for Dublin. Roncoroni was understandably disappointed to lose hold of what she thought was a qualifying spot but riders competing in both or more sections of the show were told in advance that the organisers of the Burghley qualifier would be flexible about their times.