I remember that Somerville in Dublin...
ALL the hard work over the years finally paid off as PJ Casey landed his first ever supreme hunter championship on board the four-year-old gelding Somerville.
Reserve champion rider on three previous occasions — including in 2014 with the four-year-old Huntsman — the Co Meath horse producer eventually made it to the top on Saturday morning after a hugely productive few days at the venue. “After being reserve three times it was great to finally get out there and break the duck,” he said.
Together with his wife Sonya, they run a busy yard near Stamullen, buying and producing show hunters for clients from all over the country.
By the thoroughbred Emperor Augustus and out of a mare by VDL Arkansas, Somerville was picked up by PJ Casey as a threeyear-old and produced for the show ring this year for owner Patrice Dorney.
Leading up to the Dublin Horse Show he only had attended three shows, and won on all three outings. This included Mullingar on two occasions and Ballivor, where he was best four-year-old and reserve champion.
On his way to the championship at the RDS, Somerville won his four-year-old lightweight division earlier in the week before going on to be crowned champion four-year-old hunter on Saturday morning.
He was pipped to the post for the lightweight championship — won by Louise Lyons on board First Rate — but that line-up was subsequently reversed when it came to the supreme judging.
It was indeed a busy week for the team at PJ and Sonya Casey’s P&S Horses as they also scooped wins with Anthony McFarland’s Kingston Pique, winner of the five-year-old middleweights, and Mary Rothwell’s Greenhall Will I Am, winner of the four-year-old heavyweight division. Another resident, Ballycreen Apollo, went on to be crowned reserve heavyweight champion behind Kieran Ryan’s Park Ranger when ridden by Ian Donoghue, while PJ Casey himself was on board Honourable Intent to win the lightweight cobs.
Honours in the hunter mares went to Nicola Perrin’s six-year-old Ballarin My Lady. It also proved to be a great week for Louise Lyons, as she went on to win the middleweight championship with Dartans Blockbuster before heading over to Ring 1 later on Saturday afternoon to team up with Don Cossack to win the hugely popular Racehorse to Riding Horse.