By Horse Sport Ireland / HSI
Photography: Sportfot
The 2024 RDS Dublin Horse Show took place from August 14-18 at the famous Ballsbridge Arena in the heart of the Irish capital. First held in 1864, the Horse Show, as it’s widely known, has become a fixture in Dublin’s calendar.
More than just a celebration of Ireland’s deep connection with the horse: from show horses to young and international showjumping horses, to fostering the next generation of talented riders through the pony club games and pony jumping classes. A vital element of the equestrian calendar, the RDS Dublin Horse Show is a window for the world to see the quality of horse being bred in Ireland year on year.
Since the turn of the century, Irish Sport Horses have been responsible for two victories in the RDS Dublin Horse Show International Grand Prix of Ireland. They were also both Irish horse and rider combinations with Co. Mayo’s Cameron Hanley taking victory in 2000 with Ballyaseyr Twilight (ISH)[TIH] by Clover Hill (ID) and Cmmdt. Gerry Flynn taking the win in 2007 with the Army Equitation School’s Mo Chroi (ISH)[TIH], by Cruising (ISH)[TIH] who himself had been on a winning Nations Cup team in Dublin in 1995 with Trevor Coyle.
In 2014 it was Co. Louth native Mark McAuley who went so close to recording one of the biggest wins of his career, but was agonisingly denied by the precision Swiss timing of Martin Fuchs and Conner Jei, who shaved five-hundredths of a second off the time set by McAuley and the Wexford-bred GRS Lady Amaro (ISH), to win the €500,000 Rolex Grand Prix of Ireland on the final day of the Dublin Horse Show. The jump-off was one of the most dramatic ever seen on the famous sward, with only seven-hundredths of a second separating the top three.
There was a significant Irish link to the success however, as Conner Jei’s groom, Seán Vard grew up within a water jump of the RDS Arena, in Stepaside and was understandably delighted.
Seán’s father, Taylor, is the chef d’equipe of the Horse Sport Ireland Young Horse squad for the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses in Lanaken, Belgium and the Irish Sport Horse Studbook Team at the WBFSH Studbook Jumping Global Champions Trophy in Valkenswaard, the Netherlands.
McAuley and GRS Lady Amaro had made a major contribution to the runner-up finish of the Underwriting Exchange Irish Show Jumping Team in Friday’s Aga Khan Nations Cup, jumpng an all-important clear round in the first round of the team competition. While €100,000 is hardly a poor consolation prize, the Louth athlete had to be disappointed not to land such a major contest on home turf, but was magnanimous in defeat and justifiably proud in his 11-year-old mare bred by Denis Hickey.
There was more Irish Sport Horse success throughout the week with Michael Pender and HHS Los Angeles placing second in the opening day’s feature class, the Sport Ireland Classic.
The opening international class, the Speed Stakes, featured another placing for an Irish Sport Horse with Niamh McEvoy and Templepatrick Welcome Limmerick taking the runner-up spot on the podium.
Saturday’s RDS Stakes featured a win for Cmmdt. Geoff Curran and the mare DHF Alliance (ISH). This combination represented the Irish Sport Horse Studbook in the inaugural WBFSH Studbook Jumping Global Champions Trophy in the Longines Tops International Arena in Valkenswaard in 2023 in the eoght-year-old class. The duo had won both of the qualifiers and had the best individual performance in the team final. DHF Alliance (Ard VDL Douglas [KWPN] - Rosie Bee [ISH] x Lux Z [Hann]) was bred by Co. Tyrone’s Paul Douglas.
Later on the Saturday, Co. Kildare’s Michael ‘Mikey’ Pender took his second runner-up finish of the week in the 1m50 Dublin Stakes when finishing second riding HHS Cornetta (ISH) (Cornet Obolensky [BWP] - HHS Acorado (ISH) x Acordado [Holst]) bred by former Irish Olympian, Co. Kilkenny’s Marion Hughes. The nine-year-old grey mare was brilliant as one of only seven clear rounds from the 44 combatants.
In the young horse classes, the quality of young horse in Ireland shone brightly with a one-two for Irish Sport Horses in the five-year-old class. Sunday’s final was won by Co. Mayo’s Shane Goggins with the mare Cutting Edge Too (ISH) bred in Co. Tipperary by Anne-Marie O’Gorman of Lissava Stud when coming home double clear in a time of 31.84 on the Urano De Cartigny-(SF)-sired mare, ahead of Leah Stack and Rosconnell Tango (ISH) by Tyson (KWPN) who finished second in a time of 32.64.
The six-year-old class was won by Niamh McEvoy and the Preliminary Approved stallion in the Irish Sport Horse Studbook Boleybawn Alvaro (ISH). This combination previously won silver in the 2023 five-year-old World Championships in Lanaken. Bred by Co. Wicklow’s Ronan Rothwell, this stallion by Dominator 2000 Z (Zang) out of Arina (KWPN) by Crown Z (Zang) is a half sibling to the international jumping mare Boleybawn Larina (ISH) by Luidam (KWPN)
This was another one-two result for the Irish Sport Horse in the prestigious Cruising six-year-old championship with McEvoy’s time of 34.03 being enough to seal the victory with Jason Foley and Ballinaguilkey Specialstar (ISH) cantering home in a time of 35.60. Bred in Co. Carlow by John and Barbara Walshe, Ballinaguilkey Specialstar (ISH) is by Big Star (KWPN) out of Cavalier Milly (ISH) by Ramiro B (BWP).
Ireland’s Ethen Ahearne earned a 10th place finish in the final of the CSIYH1* for seven- and eight-year-olds with LVS Goldrush H (ISH) with whom he competed in the finals of the seven-year-old World Championship in Lanaken in 2023. This combination will also represent the Irish Sport Horse Studbook in the eight-year-old division of the 2024 WBFSH Studbook Jumping Global Champions Trophy in Valkenswaard in September. By Stakkato Gold (Hann) out of Arcadia LVS Z (Zang) by Arko III (Oldbg), this gelding was bred by Heritage Bloodstock, based at Co. Tipperary’s Lissava Stud.
With automatic selections for Boleybawn Alvaro and Cutting Edge Too, respectively, in the six- and five-year-old classes for the WBCYH in Lanaken, focus now turns to that prestigious second edition of the Valkenswaard event in the Netherlands, as the breeders of these young Irish horses wait to see who will be the next GRS Lady Amaro.
Horse Sport Ireland’s contributions to the World Breeding News Magazine are supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s Equine Technical Support fund.
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