The National 4 year old class is a very important one in the "big picture" of the performance horse industry as this is where we see what direction breeding and producing is taking. This class does not see horses run against the clock but is rather a class where the youngsters are asked to show their style, technique, scope, rideability and general atttitude for the "job"!

The are four qualifiers held from May to June

throughout the four regions with percentage marks being awarded. The top 8 from each qualifier earns the right to go to Dublin Horse Show and they then have to do a further 2 qualifiers to make it through to the final top 6 for the Final where the National Champion is decided.

To ensure that there can no favouritism throughout this process the judges are different at each qualifier and this includes the two qualifiers at Dublin Horse Show and then the Final has a different format yet again. All this gives us a Champion who has gone through the process and been chosen by over 20 different judges - an excellent system!

For the Final this year we saw a Judge from Italy who has been a long time friend and supporter of the irish horse and Dublin Horse Show and from the USA the gentleman who was also assisting Linda Allen Course Designing in the main arena and the third judge was Swedish International rider Rolf Goren Bengttson and they had their work cut out for them this year with a sensational offering amongst the 6 finalists.(judges pictured above on course with commentator Dermot Ryan)

There was an excellent mixture of traditional Irish breeding and continental blood amongst them this year with Cruising being represented by a stallion and a filly. There was also a lovely entry which gave us the bloodlines of Ferro and Concorde in the shape of a lovely stallion and this is just a couple of the lines represented.

The format for the final saw the rider doing the first round and the second round was ridden by one of the two officiating International Irish riders, Kevin Babbington and Billy Twomey. It was particularly interesting to watch these two top International riders putting these young horses through their paces rather than looking for the "perfect ride" - the job of Kevin and Billy was to see how well these horses have been produced at this tender age and to see what their reactions were to certain situations and all 6 horses showed exemplary talent and ability plus were a credit to their riders who have done a great job of producing them.

And so the competition began for the final six horses and first to go was Richard Maloney's Lite Flight a handsome bay gelding by Liberty LIfe out of Utopie and I liked this horse - he had an attitude which matched his ability and that to me is a big positive in a horse. He was lovely and loose behind in his first round with Richie Maloney and he showed the same great attitude with Billy Twomey on board and went well for him, letting o behind and staying sharp in front. Billy commented that the horse "feels scopey and careful and is a little bit sensitive which is not a bad thing in a horse". In his first round Lite Flight received a score of 86.0 and in round two received 79.66 giving him a finishing total of 165.66 and this put them in 2nd place in the final lineup.

Second out was Charles O'Reilly Hyland's Rock Sensation and this young stallion was superbly shown by Gabriel Slattery. This well put together stallion is by Cruising out of Serpen Princess and I loved his calm attitude to the job at hand - nothing seemed to phase him. His front end is currently his strength in my opinion but when he let go behind we saw what the future holds for this youngster and in my opinion it will be a big one! Kevin Babbington took the second round ride on this one and he commented that the horse "pays attention at the fence and the rail he had was my fault as I went in 3 instead of 4 but his reaction after it was excellent". Rock Sensation's first round score of 79.66 combined with his second round score of 77.33 gave him a finishing total of 152.99 and 4th place in the lineup.

Master Mexico, the bay gelding by Master Imp out of Mexico Girl was ridden well by Michael Buckley on behalf of owner Sean Buckley and I loved the look of this horse and his jump was well adjusted and calm. Master Mexico combines the best of traditional Irish breeding and continental blood and Billy Twomey commented on the horses lovely mouth. Although his marks and his final placings were lower than the others in this final it must be remembered that some hundreds of horses throughout Ireland tried to get through to this final 6 and Master Mexico made it - this horse achieved a first round score of 80.33 and a second round score of 69.5 totalling 149.83 and placing them a very creditable 6th placing in this final.

The fourth horse out belongs to Cian O'Connor and was ridden by Paul O'Shea and Solerina is a fine chestnut mare by Cruising who sired two of the 6 in this final for four year olds. Solerina looks like a mare with a "fire in her belly and not in her head" - she seems to love her job and certainly her marks suggested that the Judges saw the same thing I did. Kevin Babbington took the ride on this Cruising offspring as well and he commented that she was "very adjustable, had good reaction and was very clever through the last line. When I dropped her head she worked it out" which was a good wrap indeed.Her first round marks were 87.55 and combined with a second round mark of 78.0 she took a total of 165.50 to 3rd place in the final lineup.

And so we had just two horses to go and the enormous crowd ringside were getting very excited to see just who was going to take out this prestigious title this year.

The stunning almost (and possibly is) black stallion Creevagh Ferro was next to go. Creevagh Ferro is owned by Ronnie Hollinger and was well ridden by Damien McDermot. This stallion was bred in The Netherlands and is by Ferro out of a Concorde mare and this is indeed amongst the best of continental bloodlines and he impressed me with his first time of the fence when he appeared to "jump his rider out of the saddle". Billy Twomey rode this horse and tested him and his comments after riding him bore out what many ringside thought - "this is my favourite type of canter although it is perhaps still not quite mature. This stallion wants to do everything right and although it is impossible to say with any certainty which horse will go to the very top, I can say with some certainty that this horse will go the majority of the way to the top" and that is high praise indeed. Creevagh Ferro scored 79.0 in round one and 69.50 in round two giving him a final total of 152.50 and 5th placing.

Last out was Anne Marie O'Gorman's Suir Forever who was Michael Buckley's second ride in this class. This mare by Colin Diamond out of Ladymoe is the epitome of what you would like to breed in a mare - a tall, long legged, strong mare who even though devoid of markings had an elegance which was superb. Suir Forever gave every fence plenty of air and combined this with lovely technique and a calm way about her and a temperament which did not distract. Kevin Babbington was impressed by the way she "floated in to a fence and I was able to give her her head - she has loads of scope and I would love her in my own stable". This horse (listed in the catalogue for sale) would be "suitable for any market - she is sensitive but very adjustable and has a big jump combined with carefulness". This big mare lead all the way from the moment she entered the arena on both rounds seeing a massive 96.33 in round one and 82.0 in the second round giving her a total of 178.33 which put her well into 1st placing.

As an Australian equestrian journalist watching this class it is not hard to see why the Irish are so strong in their top level Irish bred horses - for a country so small in both physical size and population they seem to me to have a "natural feel" for breeding the right combinations and getting "it right" - classes like these four year old classes are an excellent way of introducing young horses to the life of a competition horse without torturing them by putting them against the clock - I do realise that these classes are held throughout Europe and I know that New Zealand have also taken them on board and it can only be good for the future of performance horses and I lok forward to the day they become the "norm" in Australia as well.

If I have one complaint it is that too many of the exhibitors have not bothered to put the breeding of these horses (and in fact in many cases throughout the show) into the catalogue - this is a great shame as it makes it hard for those standing stallions of excellence and breeding with mares of excellence to be given the credit they so richly deserve.

The photos above show the completely unflappable nature of the winner of the Dundrum 4 Year old National Championships 2003 as she accepts quietly the attention and applause for her in the main arena during presentation. Nothing seems to phase this mare and I have no doubt that all six names in the final of this great class will be seen again in the competitions arenas throughout Ireland and some may well end up in the arenas of Europe, the UK, Europe or even as far away as Australia, New Zealand or Japan for example. They were all superb and I salute their breeders:

Suir Forever - bred by Mary O;Sullivan, Co. Tipperary

LIfe Flight - breeder not listed

Solerina - breeder not listed

Rock Sensation - breeder not listed

Creevagh Ferro - breeder not listed

Master Mexico - John Campbell, Co. Wexford

and perhaps next year I will be able to publish the FULL list of breeders and also the FULL breeding on the final 6.

Master Mexico - bred by John Campbell, Co Wexford