Showjumping championships return to Ennis

IN a u-turn this week, Showjumping Ireland’s (SJI) national executive has returned the sport’s national championships to Ennis after the competition was withdrawn from the Ennis Showgrounds earlier this year.

The championships will be held for the first time in the Showgrounds from August 30 to September 1. The competition was initially allocated to Ennis earlier this year by SJI’s national competitions committee, following application by a specially set up local committee. However, this was cancelled by the national executive following claims of poor ground.
A new format was presented to the SJI and chairman of the local national championships organising committee, Ennis Show’s PJ Garry invited SJI chairman Christy Murphy to inspect the Showgrounds last week. On Tuesday evening, the executive accepted a recommendation to bring the competition to the Showgrounds.
The local committee working towards bringing the national competition to Clare consists of PJ Garry, Jimmy Quinn, Eoin Liddy, Emma Power, Michael Kelly, John Joe Kerins and Dermot Costelloe.
According to Mr Quinn, the SJI chairman was “very impressed” with what he saw in Ennis last week.
“The national championships are usually held in Leinster and this is the first time that they will have come to Ennis so we are delighted that this decision has been made.”
He said the decision to host the competition in Ennis is testament to the investment made in the grounds in recent years. A state-of-the-art showjumping arena and ancillary buildings have been developed at the Showgrounds.
The national championships, with a prize fund of €50,000, is set to draw fans of the sport from all over the country, with organisers expecting a gate in the region of 10,000. As well as spectators, the championship will also bring owners, riders, officials, sponsors and traders to the town.
The national championship will bring financial benefits to Ennis, Mr Quinn stated.
“This is the first time that this event has been held outside of a centre. Ennis has lots of infrastructure like hotels and shops and there will be people staying in hotels, eating out and shopping while they are here. The competition is a midweek event and you will have hundreds of riders and all of the entourage that comes with that. This will be a really different experience for those taking part and the riders are all really looking forward to it.”
According to Mr Quinn, high-profile riders such as Billy Twomey, Shane Breen, Captain David O’Brien, Cian O’Connor and Cameron Hanley have all indicated they will be in Ennis if not on international duty.
He added, “People will be coming from all over Ireland for this and the event will be all pre-entered and pre-drawn so we are expecting everything to be run very slickly and efficiently.”
The national championships in Ennis will have a new format, featuring a national grand prix championship, national speed championship and national lady championship. Plans are underway to host a ladies’ day during the national lady championship. It is also hoped that the event will receive television coverage.