Portmore See Record Turnout and Results at Autumn Championships

Portmore’s four-day Autumn Show Jumping Championships concluded with a record entry of more than 900 rounds and strong competition across all levels. The organisers extend sincere thanks to our sponsors, officials, volunteers and competitors for helping deliver a successful and well-attended event which also provided excellent qualifying opportunities for forthcoming finals.

Spectators were welcomed to complimentary refreshments in a fabulous white marquee located in the main indoor gallery viewing area.  Kindly supplied by McLaughlin marquees enhancing the show atmosphere and maintaining a little of that all-important heat for those spectating.

Competitors came from far and wide to gain qualification on Thursday, Friday and the prior Sunday show for the finals held over the weekend.

Friday evening’s 1.30m Speed Class, kindly sponsored by Rathfriland Quads & Lawnmowers, proved popular: Catherine Thornton rode Clovalent to victory, with John Mulligan and Kathleen’s Candy Clover close in second and MacKenzie Healey third on Contemporary Rock; Louise Hollywood finished fourth on Jadermie, Ellie Humphries was fifth on Lougherne Casanova and Gerard Clarke sixth on Drishoge Winnie Mood. Rathfriland Quads & Lawnmowers also delighted younger spectators by displaying a selection of electric kids’ quads and scramblers in the gallery.

Saturday’s Amateur Autumn Series qualifier produced a strong group of qualifiers for the final to be held in Cavan in November, led by Grace McGarry riding Quality Quick Star, with Ruth Will second on Burst of Classe, Paddy Ward third on Conaberry Matisse, Ciara Collins fourth on Carneyhaugh Talisman and William Thompson fifth on NandT&L Z. The Ulster Cup Sports members top three placings from this class went to Janene Gamble on Bouncer Flynn, second Ellie Ward on Ardnaglass Lizzy, 3^rd Helen Pannell on Tyrella Beach.

Later that morning Grace McGarry took her second win of the day in the Roberta’s Rosettes 1.00m Championship aboard Quality Quick Star; Ruth Will was again placed, this time second on Lord of the Two Lands, while Ellie McDowell finished third on Vanderbitt, Joanne Gibson fourth on Villanelle, Louise Houston fifth on Novellent and Rory Kinnear sixth on Ringfort Rua. We are grateful to Roberta’s Rosettes, the family-run County Armagh business that supplied sashes and rosettes throughout the weekend — their presentation added a highly professional finish to our prizegivings.

The 1.10m Championship, sponsored by Raymond Irvine of Equestrian Waste Removals, was won by Emma Jackson and the seven-year-old Cocochino (owned by Sonia Graham); Danni Jennings finished second on Super Star, Katie Boggs third on Our Tom, Lisa Patterson fourth on Little Miss Shutterfly, Ellie McDowell fifth on Vanderbitt and Aiden O’Brien sixth on Ballyfree Pistache (owned by Daniel Coyle). Equestrian Waste Removals also supported the event logistically, providing an on-site container for the convenience of stabled competitors.

Portmore would like to extend thanks to the judges for the 4 yr old  class, they were Robert Harrison, Sam El Dahan and Emma Mcentee who used their breadth of experience in this hotly contested class on Saturday afternoon.  This 4 Year Old Championship was sponsored by Linda Courtney at Nutts Corner Boarding Kennels.  Shane O’Reilly had a great week of results, and that included the win in this 4 year old class onboard Brian McConville’s Karlyn Waldstar.  Christopher Brown and Sensations Optimus Prime finished in second with Katie Campbell and James McKeans Cascari Star in third, fourth was Jordan Parr and Sharon Kelly’s Ballyheerin Rocky, fifth place went to Shane O’Reilly once again on McConville’s Billy Amo and sixth Tyrone Flanagan and David Moore’s Thibault BW.

Saturday’s 1.20m speed championship, sponsored by Mavis Stewart and Patricia Stewart Greer of Ballymoss Stud, produced a fiercely competitive class in which Lucy Morton and Seapatrick Clarimo (ridden for owner Mya McDowell) claimed first place. Victoria Moffet finished second on Let’s Not Talk (owned by Seamus Duffy), Kathryn Morton was third on Ogue Toy Boy, Adam Adair fourth on Beach Boy (owned by David Conlon), Shane O’Reilly fifth on Billy Santiago (owned by Brian McConville) and Emma Jackson sixth on Rockrimmon Legacy (owned by Roy Shields).

Forty-one combinations tackled the Rafael Suárez-designed course in the Bluegrass 1.30m Grand Prix on Saturday night. The victory went to young rider Luke Devlin aboard Lisbane Agnew (owned by Sarah Agnew), the only competitor to post a double clear. Second place was claimed by Rachel Chapman, on Os Pouilly Fusse (owned and ridden by Rachel Chapman), with Shane O’Reilly third on Brian McConville’s BWE Splendid Rose. Fourth went to Shane Treanor on Captain Blue Tsz (owned by Sean Jordan), Jane Clarke finished in fifth on her own Cartobet, and Ellie Humphries completed the top six on Rossmount Luis (owned by Alison Mercer).

Sunday’s programme opened with the 5-Year-Old Championship for qualified entries, sponsored by Paul Devlin of Abbey Upholsterers. The class attracted a strong field of emerging horses, each combination showing scope and careful preparation, and Abbey Upholsterers — a 100% family-owned specialist joinery and fit-out business with projects from Galgorm Resort to London’s Claridge’s — were proud to support the championship. The previous evening had already brought local cause for celebration when Paul’s son, Luke Devlin, produced an excellent performance to win the 1.30m class, adding a celebratory note to Sunday’s competition for the sponsor.

The 6/7-Year-Old Handicap Championship, sponsored by Lee Johnston Farrier Services, saw Megan McGettigan take the title on Regula Wassmer’s seven-year-old Belmondo, with Robert Russell second on Akd Carnlea Blue (Jane Russell & Edwards Little’s six-year-old), Tara Dunne third on Mhb Ask Cazaan (Siobhan Dunne’s seven-year-old), Patricia Stewart Greer fourth on Gss Highlight (Gary Stewart’s six-year-old), Shane O’Reilly fifth on Billy Santiago (Brian McConville’s seven-year-old), and Jonathan Smyth sixth on Mulvin Ganesh Melanie (owned by Richard Smith). We thank Lee Johnston for his farriery support and note his availability for hot, cold, corrective and remedial shoeing.

The penultimate class, a 1.20m championship sponsored by Portmore Equestrian Centre, was won by Lisa Priestley on Derryinver Premier Sarah after she had also won the qualifier the previous Sunday; John Jordan was second on SJ True Grit, Emma McEntee third on Hobalo, Tyrone Flanagan fourth on Daisy Diamond, Harry Marshall fifth on Morning Attraction and Savannah Marshall sixth on Flambeau.

The show’s highlight was the Bluegrass 1.35m Grand Prix: Jonathan Smyth rode Mulvin Lights Out (owned by Noeletta Smyth & Roy Craig) to victory, marking his fourth win in this Grand Prix following successes in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Shane O’Reilly continued his impressive run of form to finish second on BWE Splendid Rose (owned by Brian McConville), with Jenny Dunlop third on Questro Z (owned by Andrew Dunlop), Launa McCann fourth on Sambuca H (owned by Kerrie Knipe), Ben Walsh fifth on Zenith Vd Donkhoeve (owned by Ronan McLaughlin) and Jodie Creighton sixth on Poppy’s Flash Back (owned by Hilary Furlonger).

Chantal and Rafael, together with the entire Portmore team, extend sincere thanks to staff, volunteers, judges, course designers and all competitors for their support and sportsmanship across the four days. Special thanks to principal sponsor Bluegrass Horse Feeds for their continued, long-standing support; Bluegrass also provided  an onsite team made available to offer free nutrition guidance to competitors. Additional thanks to Rathfriland Quads & Lawnmowers, Roberta’s Rosettes, Equestrian Waste Removals, Ballymoss Stud, Abbey Upholsterers, Lee Johnston Farrier Services, Nutts Corner Boarding Kennels and all other sponsors whose support was essential to the event’s success.

As many will appreciate, this year has presented a number of challenges for Portmore. We are deeply grateful to everyone who supported the Championships and helped to make the show such a success.