Dowdstown Purple (Quinn), ridden and owned by Jono Fryer, made a successful bid to regain the British Horse Feeds & IDHS (GB) supreme ridden Irish Draught championship at the 2026 Agria Royal International Horse Show (RIHS).
The dapple grey 10-year-old, by Crosstown Dancer out of Dowdstown Jane, and Jono qualified for the supreme showdown after winning the British Horse Feeds & IDHS (GB) ridden full Irish Draught final.
“He’s a proper diva,” laughed Jono. “People say he’s been a fantastic servant to us, but that’s not true – we’re his servants and we’re at his beck and call.”
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Despite his larger-than-life personality, Quinn has become one of the most consistent horses on the circuit.
“He’s Mr Consistent,” said Jono. “He’s always there in the top line-up and he just keeps producing. We‘re very lucky to have such an amazing pure-bred Irish Draught.”
The pair won the inaugural Irish Draught championship here in 2024. The British Horse Feeds-sponsored championship was created to celebrate the quality and versatility of full and part-bred Irish Draughts, providing the breed with a prestigious championship at Hickstead and an opportunity to showcase its many attributes. Jono believes the class is already helping to change perceptions of the breed.
“Over the last three years we’ve known two or three people every year who have gone looking for an Irish Draught after watching this championship,” he said. “That‘s really important.
“People need to realise the different shapes and sizes they come in and the way they move. They’re not cart horses – they’re the backbone of so many disciplines and they’re incredibly versatile.”
Also a winner at the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS), this latest Hickstead success further cements Dowdstown Purple's place among the country's leading Irish Draughts.
Occupying the runner-up spot in the championship was the winner of the part-bred class, Polly Coles’ My Diamond Solitair, ridden by Simon Reynolds.
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