Dublin Horse Show – Day 3 – Showing Round-up

Frenchfort Kildysart Lady added her name to the history books today, winning the Laidlaw Perpetual Challenge Cup for Overall Champion Young Horse, presented by the RDS at Dublin Horse Show (Photo: IHB/ Kirsty Pasto)

Friday of Dublin Horse Show is one of those ‘blink and miss it’ days, between back-to-back championships in the showing arenas and the iconic Aga Khan Nations Cup in the main arena.
To showing exhibitors, their ‘Aga Khan’ is a Dublin tricolour and champions galore were crowned yesterday, starting with the young horse titles in Ring 1. Thursday had decided Dublin’s two-year-old and three-year-old champions. Friday morning’s yearling classes yield one more contender and the 2025 Dublin yearling champion is Dessie Gibson’s Cushinstown Special.


Bred by Simon McCarthy – the same man who bred one of Ireland’s first medallist horses at the WBFSH championships in Lanaken: Master Ballinteskin – the dark brown gelding is by Castlefield Conthargos out of the Cavalier Royale mare Cavalier Cushinstown Cruise.
The reserve champion yearling – also booking his place in the overall young horse championship – was Derry Rothwell’s Greenhall One Cool Cat. A homebred of course with that prefix, the chesnut placed second to Cushinstown Special in their class and followed him all the way home in the yearling decider.
By Dignified van’t Zorgvliet out of Greenhall Catwalk, by Mermus R, this combination had placed third in last year’s The Irish Field Breeders Championship.


As an aside, amongst the welcome overseas spectators ringside, was Jill Day, an absolute stalwart supporter of Irish-breds with many Horse of the Year Show champions in her ownership. One of her current stars is Greenhall Treasure Island (Island Commander x Colin Diamond), bred by Derry himself.
Pat Finn’s Frenchfort Kildysart Lady was crowned this year’s Dublin filly champion in the next stage, having won the three-year-old filly class on Thursday. By Chelis HC Z and out of a Lux Z x Big Sink Hope dam, she was bred in Co Clare by Gerard Grace. William Little’s My Valleys Diamond (Vittorio x Financial Reward) was the runner-up.


The next championship was for traditionally-bred youngstock and as widely predicted, this was another win for KLF Robinhood, Aidan Williamson’s three-year-old champion the previous day. By the now German-based Jack The Robin and out of the Ghareeb mare Ballard Jewel, he added another Dublin title to his CV. Brendan Newell’s homebred Kilcahill Ruby (Financial Reward x Colin Diamond), stood reserve.
Onto the Laidlaw Cup championship for the overall young horse championship. After much deliberation by the judges Jonathan Mills and Tim Wiggett, they opted for the filly champion, shown by Philippa Scott, which led to whoops of delight from the Galway and Clare supporters on the sideline.


The reserve title stayed within the three-year-olds as KLF Robinhood was announced as reserve. (Williamson’s bay went on to win another title later on Friday afternoon in the Pembroke Cup championship, awarded to the best exhibitor-bred and My Valleys Diamond was once again the Friday bridesmaid).

Judith Faherty, the Irish Horse World editor, presents the Lynn Aldridge Trophy to Valerie Davis, whose Becca Baby, (pictured here with Richard Gildea and Valerie’s daughter Rebecca) and Cloughroe Maximus won the show jumping section of this broodmare/foal combination class (Photo: Susan Finnerty)


Pat Finn’s once-in-a-lifetime Dublin run continued after the results of this year’s The Irish Field Breeders Championship as he had bred both of the winning mares. The brainchild of the late Thady Ryan, this is a mare and foal combination-judged format and the championship is split into two sections for show jumping and eventing types, with eight finalists in each category and all selected at nationwide qualifiers.
In the opening show jumping section, judged by Germany’s Philipp Baumgart and Michaela Bowling, who stood in for the scheduled judge Harm Sievers, their choice was first-time finalist Valerie Davis’s pair of Becca Baby, bought as a foal at Ballinasloe Horse Fair, and her Landino VDL colt foal Cloughroe Maximus.
The dam is by O.B.O.S Quality 004 out of Frenchfort Loughehoe Lady, by Loughehoe Guy, himself a full-brother to Irish, the individual bronze medal winner at the Barcelona Olympics. Having bred the winning mare, Pat Finn’s own entry: Penelope, the Laidlaw Cup champion here two years ago for Tiernan Gill, and her Diarado filly foal FSH Ruby, placed reserve.

Winner Alright: Martin and Mary Murphy with their Castlegate Sweet Emotion and her Sligo Candy Boy colt, Judith Faherty and judges Philipp Baumgart and Michaela Bowling (Photo: Susan Finnerty)


In the following eventing section, it was another win gone west as Mayo couple Martin and Mary Murphy owned the winning combination of Castlegate Sweet Emotion and her Sligo Candy Boy colt foal. Another Finn-bred, Castlegate Sweet Emotion is by Mermus R out of the Limmerick dam Frenchfort Limerick Lady.
The reserve champion was Hurst Show Team’s LCC Yoko (Iroko) and Tattygare Here Again, by Caspar 232. LCC Yoko is the dam of last year’s supreme Dublin hunter champion: Tattygare Me Me Me and the Dublin hunter champions will be decided this morning in the hallowed main arena.