Millstreet in Co Cork will resound to the hoof-beats of more than 1,200 equines this week, as the Cork town stages its annual international horse show.

Dublin Horse Show

Cian O’Connor is countenancing no suggestion but victory in today’s Furusiyya Series Nations Cup at the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show.

The women of Ireland showed who were the real bosses of the Dublin Horse Show yesterday by taking centre stage from any visiting US rock star.

Single errors for both Denis Lynch and tyro Bertram Allen kept the Irish duo out of the shake-up in the grand prix in Lyon, France, yesterday.

Not only would Cian O’Connor say the sale of this country’s best horses is not necessarily a bad thing, he would go so far as to declare it as a “positive”.

There was good news for Irish show jumping yesterday, with Ireland team manager Robert Splaine revealing that Denis Lynch would form part of the squad for the nations cup in Spain at the end of this month.

Olympic medallist Cian O’Connor joked yesterday that “unfortunately” he would not gain any advantage from last year’s Olympic showjumping fences at this week’s Millstreet International Horse Show.

“I was only in second gear,” joked Cian O’Connor yesterday after he got Ireland off to a winning start at the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show, before Bertram Allen, made it two-in-a-row for the home side in the second international class.

Sarah Ennis was typically determined yesterday as she aimed to turn around a disappointing dressage score with BLM Diamond Delux in the feature CCI three-star at Tattersalls Horse Trials.

JAYNE DOHERTY declared herself on “cloud 10” yesterday, after finishing fourth and best of the Irish with The Only One in the feature class at Tattersalls International Horse Trials.

IRELAND will contest this year’s Meydan Nations Cup Series, despite a 60% cut in funding by its affiliate, ShowjumpingIreland, coupled with a reduction in the Irish Sports Council contribution to high performance.