Tag Archives: Dublin Horse Show

TODAY (Wednesday) sees the start of the Dublin Horse Show with plenty of Clare interest in the four day event. With the show running from August 9 to 13, the premier show jumpers from Ireland and further afield have descended on Dublin, writes Ivan Smyth. The Williams brothers – Rhys and Coen – will each compete in multiple events during the course of the week. Older brother Rhys will be onboard Playboy JT Z (Presley Boy x Plot Blue) in the seven and eight year old International Class. Rhys took victory in the same competition in last year’s event aboard Playboy JT Z. Rhys will be aiming to take home the Seamus Hughes Perpetual Challenge Trophy awarded for the Four Year Old ‘Mo Chroí’ National Show Jumping Championship. Rhys will compete in the Four Year Old Class aboard KPCM Hugo Boss (Plot Blue (KWPN) x Luidan (KWPN). Finally, the talented rider, out of PARC Stables, will also ride in the …

AN EAST Clare-based artist has swapped the reins for a set of artist’s pencils, as she heads to the Dublin Horse Show next month. Jackie O’Donoghue, a Cork native, is a pet portrait artist based in Tulla, and is looking forward to heading to the world-famous horse show in August to showcase a stunning array of character portraits of family pets and wildlife. With an eye of all things equine, Jackie captures the power and majesty of the horse. She also has a talent for capturing the traits and personality quirks of other livestock, pets and wildlife. Her collection includes expert images of horses and riders, faithful hounds, beloved donkeys, charming piglets and more. She is also regularly commissioned to capture portraits that help to ensure that cherished pets always stay close to the heart. With a keen eye for the natural world, Jackie grew up on a rural family farm in County Cork. This instilled in her a love …

Ireland chef d’equipe Michael Blake speaks to Dan Danaher and looks back at his riding career, what he had to do to buy his first pony, setting the world bareback championship record, and guiding Ireland’s showjumpers to a string of successes   MICHAEL Blake has made history by bringing the Aga Khan trophy back to Tuamgraney following a very successful showjumping year that included qualifying for the Olympics less than seven days before the thrilling jump-off against France in the RDS. On paper, Michael knew he didn’t have the riding pedigree to become Ireland’s Showjumping Manager. However, through hard graft and precise planning, the Tuamgraney man put himself firmly in the hunt for selection. From 2012 to 2016, Michael took over the Ireland Youth Showjumping team and helped young riders to an impressive haul of medals. In 2017, the senior riders asked him to get involved so he became Development Manager and started working with Chef d’Equipe, Rodrigo Pessoa. This …

THE WORLD famous Aga Khan trophy could be making its way to Clare next month to mark the role of a Tuamgraney man in Team Ireland’s victory in the Nations Cup last week. The glittering prize is one of the most sought-after in international equestrian sport and was donated by Aga Khan III in 1926. Chef d’Équipe, Tuamgraney’s Michael Blake, ensured that Ireland took back the coveted cup for the first time since 2015 in after a tense, but thrilling, jump-off against France. An elated Michael, who is also celebrating early qualification for the Olympics in 2024, told The Champion the nail-biting finish was a little tighter than he would have liked. “We did take our foot off the gas at point, but when it came down to the penalty shoot-out, we showed we could put the ball in the back of the net,” he said. On returning to Clare last Monday, one of the first things Michael did was …

Clare’s finest young jockeys will be hoping to gallop forward this week with the county well represented at the prestigious Dublin Horse Show. The action starts this Wednesday as over 1600 horses and ponies from all corners of the country as well as some of the most expensive international showjumpers in the world will descend on D4 for this event for the first time since 2019, with the Dublin Horse Show cancelled for the past two years due to the pandemic. The Dublin Horse Show takes place from 17th – 21st August in the iconic grounds of the RDS combining sport, style and socialising in the heart of Dublin. There are high hopes for Clare’s talented young jockeys with the Williams brothers from Ennis set to take centre stage. Older brother Rhys, who has recently turned 18, will compete with the horse Conthanja PS in the 135-140cm Young Rider’s Class while he will also be aboard the horse Playboy in …

CELEBRATIONS to mark the 400th anniversary of the Spancilhill Horse Fair will not go ahead this year, as organisers of the world-famous event have taken the decision to cancel the festival for 2021. The event is a much-loved focal point in the calendar for horse-traders and equestrian enthusiasts across this country and beyond, and it is very much tied to its date of June 23. “It is more or less set in stone and that’s meant we’re not really in a position to defer or postpone the fair,” explained Chairperson of the event committee Brian Clune. “The date is tied in with other big events in Clare like the Willie Clancy Summer School and then the likes of the Dublin Horse Show and the Ballinasloe Horse Fair. We took the decision to cancel over the weekend and while it’s disappointing to think that this is the second year without Spancilhill Fair, we really had no choice. Inter-county travel is still …