Firstly, young Loughrea-man Padraig Flanagan who won both sections of the Connemara Performance Hunter Championship. He first rode Bertie O’Halloran’s Young Walt (S1-1216) to top honours in the 5-7 y.o. section, before going on to steer the impressive Cashelbay Prince (S1-1187) to a comfortable victory in the 8-15 y.o. class as well. This Championship, now in its second year, is probably now the most prestigious competition for Connemaras under saddle, and Padraig should be delighted with his incredible achievement.

Pascal Crawford, Padraig’s tutor and the man responsible for producing both winning ponies and bringing them to such heights of performing excellence, should also be justly proud. Cashelbay Prince, by I Love You Melody, is well known on the Performance circuit (often under Claire Crawford) and will be returning to Clifden having bypassed that show in the last couple of years. At the recent Northern Ireland Festival in Cavan, competing against all breeds, Prince won four championships, one Supreme Championship, and one Reserve Supreme – in four different disciplines. In the end, he took gold in Dressage, the Riding class, Show Jumping, and M&M Working Hunter.

The classes attracted large crowds to Ring Two where the flat work stage had a major influence on the overall result and the well-presented jumping track required strong, forward-going riding.

Flanagan first won the younger ponies’ section on Young Walt, Bertie O’Halloran’s home-bred Castlestrange Fionn seven-year-old, who has plenty of show jumping points to his credit. So too does Cashel Bay Prince, which was a comfortable winner of the class for eight to 15-year-old ponies.

This nine-year-old, by I Love You Melody, was bred by his owner Robbie Fallon at the Cashel Bay Stud outside Athenry.

Earlier in the morning, Cian Geoghegan’s seven-year-old grey mare Coosheen Lisa held off the challenge of Merryn Huntley-Jones’s Moy Hazy Cove stallion, Killacloran, to claim the honours in the led classes.

In Ring One, the morning’s action started with the riding horses and here Michaela Butler’s 13-year-old gelding Corrileas Imp, by Master Imp, regained the title which he won here in 2008.

Taking the reserve ribbon was PJ and Sonia Casey’s dark bay Sand Hill gelding Terrierman which put up a good performance for a four-year-old.

The pair finished first and second in the first section of the large riding horse class.

Co Laois owner and rider Michael Comerford was delighted with his win in the cob championship on lightweight class winner Merrick, a four-year-old Corna Blu gelding he bred himself out of the Hazel Brook mare, Hazel Dubh.

Filling the reserve spot for the second year in a row was Sam McAteer’s five-year-old Randalstown Limited Edition which won the heavyweight section in the hands of Sheila, the owner’s wife.

McAteer purchased the grey gelding two years ago at Ballinasloe.

In the small hunter championship the judges reversed the placings of the four and five-year-old class when presenting the cup to Jane Bradbury, rider of Ann Smurfit’s Saint Moritz, a four-year-old bay mare by Olympic Lux which was bred in Tinahely by Eleanor Hadden.

The winner of the class, and slotting into the reserve position, was Jane Darragh’s five-year-old skewbald gelding Garvey’s Joy.

The presentation stage of the young event horse classes took place late yesterday afternoon and these four and five-year-olds tackle the second jumping stage this morning in the main arena.

That class will be followed by the young riders’ speed Derby over a similar track.

Competitors in the latter competition qualified last year and have since undergone training where there was a lot of emphasis on flat work to improve their overall performance.

Produced in Corofin by Pascal Crawford for owner/breeder Robert Fallon, the nine-year-old I Love You Melody stallion finished his round of flat work and jumping on a score of 260 points, which left him some way ahead of Antoinette Geoghegan’s Westmir Queen, the only mare in the class.

Ridden here by Chloe Roche, this 14-year-old Westside Mirah bay matched the winner when it came to fluency and halt, with judge Susan Stoney awarding both scores of 10 and nine, Cashelbay Prince gaining his advantage in the flat work phase as both also recieved full marks for their jumping.

The 13-year-old Ferdia gelding Blackwood Fernando also secured his ticket for Dublin when finishing third under owner Claire Devlin’s daughter Alicia Devlin Byrne.

Cashelbay Prince, who is out of the Callowfeenish Mairtin mare Coosheen Pheasant, gets a lot of filly foals and proving popular again this year at stud.

CAVAN AIM
On the competition front he will be aimed at the Irish Pony Society Show at Cavan at the end of next month, the final of this competition and the ridden stallion class at Dublin, and he will be returning to Clifden having bypassed that show in the last couple of years.

In the class for younger ponies, Flanagan had to settle for second place behind India Dawson (17) on her mother Helena’s Gloster Boy, who recieved full marks for his fluency over the Derby course, where he jumped clear, and his halt. He also recieved top marks for his flat work from Stoney who gave him a rare 10 for one movement.

Bred in Co. Offaly by Thomas Ryan and purchased throught Ann Stanley, the six-year-old is by Laerkens Cascade Dawn out of an Ardravinna Andy mare. The grey gelding is usually partnered by India’s younger sister Lydia who lost out on the ride for this class in Dublin as she is too young.

However, the 14-year-old is on the shortlist for the European hunter pony championships in Cavan at the end of next month with Gloster boy while India also hopes to make the team with Stanley’s Bob Marley.

India and Lydia will be in the middle of their exams next year, so Helena has decided to push the boat out this season. “Most of the qualifiers are a good bit away from us in north Co Dublin but you’d go anywhere to jump tracks like these and I think this is a very good competition.”

In this class for five to seven-year-olds, Flanagan (17) was on board bertie O’Halloran’s homebred Young Walt, a grey stallion by Castlestrange Fionn out of the Cloonisle Cashel mare Dangan Suzy.

Also produced by Crawford, this seven-year-old does a lot of show jumping and will take in plenty of working hunter classes before Dublin and Clifden.

The third pony to qualify for Dublin from this round in Rincoola was Fiona Callaghan’s homebred Ashfield Trobadour, a seven-year-old roan gelding who was ridden by Amy Whittle.

Both classes last Thursday were sponsered by the Northern Ireland Connemara Association who must have been delighted with the big entry and also with the quality as the 2009 Dublin supreme champion Glenmore Kellys Owen travelled to Balmoral to make her presence felt by lifting the Henderson and Graham trophy.

The 14-year-old grey, who was bred in Co. Galway by Martin Kelly and is by Abbeyleix Owen out of Gentian Gold, by Ardravinna Andy, was exhibited by Francis and Deirdre O’Reilly form Dundalk whose luck was certainly in last week.

It was only when they got their number and passes that the Co Louth couple realised that ‘Kelly’ had been entered instead of another mare and to make matters even better her lovely filly by Windy’s Boy took the foal championship.

“We were determined to come to Balmoral as we heard so much about it” said Deirdre. “We are delighted to have won, especially as the class was also a qualifier for the Midlands all-Ireland broodmare championship. We will now head for Boswell and also Ballinalee.”

Derek and Ann Henderson’s home-bred Ballyalt Calla Lily (by I Love you Melody) took the blue rosette ahead of Nicola Brown’s Corah Delight (by Castleside J.J.). The special award for the highest placed three-year-old went to Daniel Hickinson’s Branchfield Maeve, a grey by Glenayre Silver Fox.

Robbie Fallon from Cashelbay House, Connemara, was joined by Claire Oakes from Navan to judge the ridden class where they were faced with a mammoth task as 32 ponies came before them. Wisely,the judges took the decision to split the competitors in half and judge the class in two parts, later bringing back the top six in both divisions to decide on their final placings.

The 13-year-old Blackwood Fernando, beautifully ridden by Alicia Devlin-Byrne from Co Wicklow, launched his summer campaign in style when judged the overall winner, the rider proudly receiving the R.J. Moneith Cup presented by Marina and James Wray.

‘Fernando’, a grey son of Ferdia who was bred by Patrick McNamara out of Mervyn Pookhaun mare Dancing Queen, has been consistently in the ribbons all over Ireland for the past few years winning several championships.

The 11-year-old Jacks Promise mare Ceide Rose, ridden by Clare Brown, stood second in the class while Jayne Maxwell and the six-year-old grey mare Abbeyfern (by Abbeyfort) placed third.

The special award for the best rider 16 years and under went to Zoe Woods from Ballygowan, Co Down astride Derek and Ann Henderson’s Mo Buachalin Ban, who also lifted the Robson Cup for the best young pony in the class.