THE Show Jumping Association of Ireland (SJAI) has set the bar high with its new Premier Grand Prix League, but it is confident the strict criteria it has laid down for it “can only ensure excellence”.

Ireland's Steven Smith, riding Mr. & Mrs. J Allwood’s Quality VH became the first Irish eventing rider to win an international competition in 2007, when he finished on a score of 56.8 penalties in the CIC Three Star class at Barroca D’Alva in Portugal yesterday.