“She lives up at the top of the Ox Mountain and when the showing season is over that’s where she goes back to with Sean” said Liam Lynskey, who won the Irish Draught mare championship with Sean Ruane’s homebred Strictly Come Bouncing.

By his own Moylough Bouncer, the mare missed out on defending her 2015 win when injured en-route to Dublin but bounced back to take firstly her division of the older mare class, split into two sections due to the large entries, and then the overall title.

Standing reserve was Danny Molloy’s Clogheen Jenny, who won the other division.

By Fast Silver, the seven-year-old is out of his original show mare Hawklands Blue Heather, bought back then by the young Draught enthusiast instead of a car.

Foals

The third winner of Thursday afternoon’s well-supported classes, which saw judging continue until 8pm, was Padraig Bohan with his Coolcronan Wood-sired Gortfadda Ruby Kingdom, bred by Rebel County breeder Sean Scannell.

“I’ve never judged classes like them, they were outstanding” commented UK judge Ann Kay who was teamed up with the Hanoverian Verband’s Ulrich Hahne for these classes.

“It was a really good experience for me” said the German judge, who felt the same correct conformation basics applied across the board when assessing livestock.

They opted for Caroline Myers’s colt, by Baltydaniel Romeo and second-placed Dermot O’Brien’s Stonepark Ranger, by Castlegar Fingrove as their champion and reserve foals. P.J Glynn’s Scrapman filly won the other class, while the alternative combination of Kannan and Coolcronan Wood produced the winning partbred foal for Mary McCarthy.

Stallions

Jimmy Quinn won the Irish Draught stallion class for a fourth time and on this occasion it was last year’s reserve Cappa Aristocrat that obliged.

The Star Kingdom six-year-old, none the worse for a couple of laps around Ring 1 when his bridle came off during the stallion parade the previous day, was bred by Pascal Claffey in Lawrencetown.

He was reserve in 2016, a place occupied this year by his stable companion Cappa Dianthus, a grandson of the famous Pink Carnation, and bred by Pat Dillon.

Standing third was Sean Barker’s Gortfree Hero, whose Ballykelly Flashdance was one of the young horses sold at Dublin this year and his stallion son Gortfree Lakeside Lad claimed the Irish Draught performance championship on the opening day.

The reserve title was won by Marie Helen Finnegan’s Silver Foggy Dew, by Carrickcottage Star.