A double helping of FEI World Cup rounds in both show jumping and dressage ensures there is no let-up in international action over the Christmas period.

Leading Irish eventers Padraig McCarthy and Cathal Daniels are among the riders heading to Switzerland for this week’s CHI Geneva five-star fixture.

A male brown bear attacked and killed a female bear in front of horrified onlookers at a German zoo.

France released a fourth bear in the Pyrenees today as part of a contested programme to repopulate the region.