The Irish Draught Horse Society Ltd held its 29th National Breed Show at the Moate show grounds recently.

The show included 23 classes of breeding stock, young stock, ridden hunter and show jumping classes. Professor Pat Wall, chairman of Horse Sport Ireland, opened the show, the highlight of which was the final of the Botanica International All-Ireland Irish Draught Mare and Foal Championship.

The champion for 2014 was Hughie Murphy’s Cogans Dawn Star and Barnaview Grosvenor Star, from the last crop of Grosvenor Lad.

Hughie’s broodmare is enjoying a revival in fortunes lately, winning the broodmare championships at Athlone and Galway County. The reserve champion was Seamus Sloyan’s prolific winner, Elm View and her colt foal by Fast Silver.

The supreme champion of the show was Aidan Kelly’s Ballykilcross Queen Gypsy by Fintan Himself, a yearling filly that was champion Irish Draught filly foal last year at the Ballinasloe Show. She was bred by Anne Rabbitte from Clara, Co Offaly, out of her Castana broodmare, Lecarrow Gypse.

Ridden Irish Draught horse classes proved popular on the day, with ridden hunter classes filled with regular circuit combinations.

The show holds not just a ridden hunter and show jumping class, but also an in-hand gelding class. This in-hand class was won by Tom McNamara with his Ardrahan ID champion, Shanbally Willow, much to the delight of show treasurer PJ Sheerin.

PJ bred this accomplished gelding by Mountain Diamond out of his good show mare, Digby Dell, who won numerous championships in her heyday during 2007 and 2008.

John Fahy declared that the show was perfect for keeping his good ID, Lachain Blue Boy, fit and ready for the upcoming RDS Horse Show.

This gelding, ridden by Amanda Fahy, won both the 90cm and one metre open jumping classes. Another Dublin-bound combination, Siobhan Cashin and Drumdore Mr Freeze, secured a second placing in the large class of purebred-ridden hunters.

But it was a small gelding, Ciara Griffith’s Deards Countdown, a true Irish Draught cob, that won the ID ridden hunter class.

Ridden Confirmation judge, Vincent Holian, chose this proper cob as the new Derryronane Stud ridden champion, with Yvonne Gunning’s Carraig Finn, the part bred-ridden hunter winner, as reserve. Visiting English judge Nigel Cox later confirmed his strong approval of this choice.

One of the most popular local winners was senior showman Michael Dooner with the SkyClad foal champion, a filly foal by Fintan Himself out of the Martin Conneely Memorial Small Mare class winner, Sweet Kingdom by Star Kingdom.

Local stallion master Tim Carey heartily approved of this choice, produce of his two recent ID stallions.