HAVING never won an international class at the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show, Paul O’Shea yesterday went and topped the leaderboard in two contests yesterday , writes John Tynan.

A WORKING group has been set up to devise an apt industry response to a recently published report on horse welfare by University College Dublin.

THERE was an “oh my god” moment for Tipperary town woman, Yvonne Ellard, when she won the top fashion prize at the Blossom Hill Ladies’ Day at the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show yesterday.

ATTEMPTS to “sterilise” the countryside were criticised by the president of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), John Bryan, at the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show yesterday.

SHOW jumper Dermott Lennon yesterday demonstrated in style that he and Hallmark Elite were suffering no ill-effects from their travails at last week’s Hickstead.

IT could have been a dress rehearsal for the visit to Ireland by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, as four splendid black horses pulled the elegant Lord Mayor’s Coach through the streets of Dublin.

Over 80,000 visitors are expected to attend the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse show which opens today.

SHANE BREEN yesterday gave Ireland the perfect start at Hickstead ahead of today’s nations cup, taking two of the three international classes.

THE Irish show jumping squad that recently won the German Nations Cup has been selected by manager Robert Splaine for next week’s Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show.

THE Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show is worth €43 million to the national economy, it was revealed yesterday.

THE credit crunch provided a surprise boost for the five-day Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show which ended last evening.

IT WAS a case of out but not down for Italy yesterday, when the already-relegated Mediterraneans won the €200,000 nations cup at the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show.

AN estimated 1,000 horses will starve to death in Ireland this winter due to the credit crunch, it was claimed yesterday.

WALKING across the busy road outside the Royal Dublin Society complex in Ballsbridge was not for the fainthearted yesterday.

THE celebrated Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show with its cocktail of colourful pomp, exciting show jumping and stylish glitz, got off to a gloriously sunny start at the RDS in Ballsbridge yesterday.

THE farm cuts proposed in the McCarthy Report will lead to 12,300 job losses, a €430 million drop in output and a greater burden on the social welfare budget than the savings made by An Bord Snip.

Horse Sport Ireland Team Manager Robert Splaine has announced his team for the Nations' Cup at the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show on Friday, August 7.

DENIS LYNCH is adamant Ireland can avoid relegation from the Meydan Nations Cup Series.

US-BASED show jumpers Shane Sweetnam and Kevin Babington are among a five-man squad named yesterday for next week’s Meydan Nations Cup Series opener in La Baule, France.

THE prestigious breeders’ championship at the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show was won by west Cork exhibitors John and Cathal Dineen, Kilshinihan, Timoleague, with their seven-year-old chestnut, Kilshinihan Lass.

JESSICA KÜRTEN justified her favourite’s tag yesterday when she won the €130,000 Longines Grand Prix at the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show.

A TWIN-TRACK approach by the Royal Dublin Society has boosted the reputation of the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show as one of the world’s leading equestrian events.

Jessica Kurten made her visit to the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show more than worthwhile today when she scooped the €42,000 first prize in the Longines Grand Prix with Lady Georgina Forbes's mare Castle Forbes Libertina.

AN ancient Chinese theory that the number 8 is lucky didn’t totally hold out for the brave Irish in the Aga Khan Trophy which Britain won at the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show yesterday.

SORTING out the chaps from the lads at the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show is proving a trifle difficult.

A GLAMOROUS 18-year-old whose ambition is to become a fashion model sashayed away from the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show last evening with the first prize worth €10,000 as overall winner of the Evian Ladies Day fashion showpiece.

IRELAND’S show jumpers were in the frame yesterday on the opening day of the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show and, while victory eluded them, it provided optimism ahead of tomorrow’s Samsung Super League nations cup.

MEMORIES of past glories came alive at the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show yesterday as Eddie Macken returned as a competitor to the scene of some of his greatest triumphs.

AN APPROVED process for sellers and suppliers of Irish sport horses is to be introduced, it was announced as the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show got under way.

MODEL Pippa O’Connor was rushed to hospital yesterday after an accident with a horse during a photo shoot for the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show.

Shane Carey notched up his second victory of the weekend at the four-star show in Prague, Czech Republic when he won the Speed Class there today with the Irish-bred 'Cashla Bay'.

STRICTER enforcement and inspection of passports and identification for horses going to shows, sales, race meetings and such events has been announced by Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan. Horses found without passports will be sent home.

THE prestigious breeders’ championship at the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show was won by a nine-year-old bay mare owned by Margaret Jeffares, Ballykelly House, Drinagh, Co Wexford.

THE historic main jumping arena at the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) showgrounds is to be given a facelift as part of a €100 million five-year development plan for the Ballsbridge property.

THERE is something about the Aga Khan trophy that tickles the interest of the Irish.

IT was a case of midnight blue making an elegant afternoon impact as the Evian Ladies Day brought a sea of glitz and glamour to the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show yesterday.

FARM leaders from north and south yesterday reiterated the importance of strict biosecurity measures as part of the all-island approach to keeping foot and mouth disease out of Ireland and avoiding an economic disaster.

IT will be Ladies’ Day in earnest both inside and outside the manicured rings of the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show at the RDS today.

Ireland’s biggest equestrian event kicked off today with precautions to safeguard against the spread into the country of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

THE foot and mouth outbreak in Surrey currently poses no threat to the holding of agricultural shows around the country.

THE sport horse industry, worth at least €400 million a year to the national economy, will have a shop window display at this week’s Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show.

One of Ireland’s oldest and largest equestrian events will kick off this week for its annual showcase.

THE announcement on Monday of the Irish nations cup quintet for the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show (August 8-12) allows the chance for a more educated guess as to the make-up of the squad for the European Championships, which take place the following week.

CAMERON HANLEY is the last Irishman to win the grand prix at the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show and he is not ruling out a repeat in two weeks’ time.