Ireland’s eventers have a home international fixture this week as the Sema Lease Camphire International Horse Trials get underway tomorrow in Waterford.

Irish-bred horses continue to dominate the world of eventing, topping the latest yearly rankings by the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH), which were issued on Monday.

After an injury-enforced lay-off Cian O’Connor is set for a return to jumping action this coming weekend in Germany. The Meath rider heads for Wiesbaden’s four-star meeting with his top horse Good Luck, along with Copain du Perchet and his newly-acquired Cybell.

Paul Kennedy is in line for his biggest team challenge to date when Ireland take on seven opponents in Friday’s important Division 1 Nations Cup of Italy in Rome.

Having finished third of the three teams in last year’s inaugural FEI Eventing Nations Cup at Ballindenisk, the Irish will be bidding for improvement this weekend, writes John Tynan.