No catalogues or IPS classes (due to costs and lack of help) at Galway County Show last Sunday summed up the difficulties facing most agricultural shows and with Sunday’s rainfall forcing the cancellation of the main show jumping classes, the show should have been a washout.

However, hardy stewards, judges and exhibitors battled on at Ballybrit throughout a day that produced some intriguing results and delighted owners. None more so than Tom Newell who booked his first Breeders Championship final appearance when his Kilcahill Diamond (Colin Diamond) and her Financial Reward foal topped Denise Norton and Alistair Pim’s line-up.

Also going through are Stephen Culliney with Kilkeany Mystic (Ghareeb) and Luke Morley’s Morley Street (Big Sink Hope) with their OBOS Quality and VDL Dakar foals.

The same judges later selected Dermot Gordon’s Munther three-year-old filly, last year’s All-Ireland champion at Kildysart, as their youngstock champion. Reserve was Susanne Kelly’s recent Ballivor young horse champion Susie’s Diamond Miss (Colin Diamond) from the two-year-old filly class, another to impress the judges with her broodmare potential.

Barnaview Queen (Clonakilty Hero), a recent winner at Ennistymon, made it seven Irish Draught championships at Galway County for her owner-breeder Hughie Murphy. Noel Collins and Michael Kirwan then selected Maura Walsh’s Mountain Diamond colt foal Charlie as their reserve.

Tim O’Brien, who has travelled the country with his daughters Lyndsey and Suzanne since their leadrein days, had the perfect Father’s Day present when they won the ridden horse championship and reserve titles respectively with their Mr Shakespeare (Olympic Lux) and Hardingville Darcy (Cusop Darcy).

The final championship of a deluge-hit day in the Connemara ring was won by Noel Nee’s supreme champion Doonreaghan Marty, a prolific winner for his Cashel owner. “He’s going home now to cover a mare!” said Nee about his home-bred stallion. Yorkshire judges Amanda Butler and Alison Gladwin selected Peter Keane’s mare Seafield Rose as their reserve champion and coincidentally both are by Coolillaun Cushlawn.