THE final four combinations for next month’s The Irish Field Breeders’ Championship were decided at West Clare Show, held on the land where a young Coevers Diamond Boy was reared.

Going through from the show jumping section were two north-west exhibitors, Des McDonnell and Laura Foody, who had travelled to Kilrush, where hailstones alternated with sunny spells.

Four pairs lined out in this opening section. McDonnell, from Crossmolina, showed Bridget Devaney’s Emme and her Hard Rock VDL foal to win last year’s show jumping section at Dublin. This year, he qualified his own Tyson mare, Miss Manhattan and her Vancouver foal.

Getting the nod from Philip Copithorne and Denis McGrath, was Sligo owner Laura Foody’s pair of Fidachta Tulip, by Cougar with a Glynnwood Cornet colt.

From the half-dozen entries in the eventing section, two traditionally-bred pairs go forward. Darragh Glynn and Niamh Varley’s Crannaghmore Elusive Lady, the 2018 All-Ireland traditional filly foal champion, qualified with her Centennial foal, as did Danielle Cusack’s Spirit House mare Ballydurn Taylor and her Clonaslee Captain Cristo colt.

“Both sections were very competitive today. The challenge was to identify the best combinations that are presented, when, in some cases, the mare is a good option, but the foal is weaker or vice versa,” McGrath commented afterwards.

“Congratulations to all that qualified and we wish them luck at the RDS in a class that’s showcasing the quality of equine talent being produced by breeders nationally for future performance.”

All the 2024 finalists, from the four nationwide qualifiers at Lurgan, Athlone, Charleville and West Clare, will be included in the traditional Dublin preview pullout in the pre-Horse Show week issue (Saturday, August 10th).

But for the Breeders’ Championship qualifers scheduled for 2.30pm, horse showing classes were completed just after 1pm. Clashing with the All-Ireland semi-hurling final showdown between Clare and Kilkenny didn’t help spectator numbers, although a TV was set up in the beer tent for showgoers to tune in to an epic win by the Banner County.

Entries

Numbers were very disappointing in the young horse section, for example, there were no entries in the two-year-old filly class.

Entries ranged from one to four in Tim Carey and Sean O’Donovan’s other classes and they found their champion in John Mulconroy’s three-year-old gelding class winner.

This was Lackin Or, by Lagans OBOS Quality out of a Cottage Fire dam and he was bought from his Claregalway breeder, Tom Lenihan. The three year-old won both the Paddy Downes Cup (champion three-year-old) and Flan Brew Cup (young horse champion). Names inscribed on the latter include the late Paddy’s own Dromelihy Imp, champion here in 2006 before he went on to win the All-Ireland three-year-old final at Bannow and Rathangan.

The reserve champion title went to Michael Keane’s yearling filly winner: Moveen Honeydew, by Moveen Lockdown.

Another former dual champion, Sheelagh Barry’s Mythical Darwin, by Harlequin du Carel, won the broodmare title. Again, entries were very sparse with the sole broodmare class entries: Mythical Darwin and Patricia Hassett’s Moylough Elegance (Emperor Augustus) also producing the colt and filly foal prize winners.

Barry’s Bravour VDL colt then took the championship, ahead of Hassett’s winning filly by Canturex VDF Z.