Attendance estimated at over 4,500 at Millstreet showcase of Ireland’s pedigree dairy breeding and trade exhibition

Jonty Evans remains in intensive care in Beaumont Hospital after a fall at Tattersalls International Horse Trials on Sunday.

“All in all everyone is happy and it’s onwards and upwards from here,” said Irish rider Shane Breen after Sunday’s nations cup league opener in Samorin, Slovakia.

There were some positive moves for Irish riders in the latest Longines rankings issued by the world governing body, the FEI, yesterday.

Ireland’s show jumpers could be in line for a notable treble as they tackle the Wellington Nations Cup this weekend during week eight of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida.

“You don’t win nations cups without jumping clear rounds and we didn’t jump enough of them,” said Michael Blake after he had seen the Irish show jumping team he managed fall short of repeating last year’s success in Ocala, Florida on Sunday evening.

Ireland has two show jumping teams in action this weekend for the first of this year’s nations cup fixtures. Michael Blake takes charge of affairs for the five-star meeting in Ocala, Florida, while Taylor Vard will be overseeing matters at Abu Dhabi’s five-star contest in the UAE.

The recent cold snap afflicting the US has lifted just in time for the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) which begins today at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, Florida. 

Next year’s World Equestrian Games (WEG) have taken on a new perspective for Ireland’s show jumpers following their recent European Championships victory in Gothenburg, Sweden, team member Cian O’Connor said yesterday.

This Friday sees the Irish senior show jumping team in action at Hickstead for what will be their last competitive nations cup engagement before Dublin Horse Show. 

Ireland’s show jumping manager Rodrigo Pessoa was understandably disappointed after last Friday’s seventh-place finish in the five-star Nations Cup at St Gallen in Switzerland, even though it was one of the dispensable ones in his calendar.

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.

Nations cups dominated last week’s show jumping headlines, but the international limelight over the next few days switches to the relatively new, mixed-nationality format that is the Global Champions League (GCL), writes Mike Dunne.

The securing of maximum points is the target of manager Rodrigo Pessoa as Ireland’s show jumping team begin their competitive season in the five-star Nations Cup at La Baule, France this Friday.

Equestrian: It came as no surprise on Tuesday that Tony Hurley was returned as chairman of ShowjumpingIreland for a third and final year.

Consideration is been given to staging show jumping at a number of greyhound stadia next year.

Shane Sweetnam may have offloaded his top ride last year, but that does not mean he is ready to relinquish his position as a stalwart of the Irish team.

VANDALS who desecrated the grave of a garda have been described as “the lowest of the low”.

A WATERFORD father-of-two was found yesterday by his wife lying in a pool of blood with a butcher’s knife embedded in his chest.

A woman whose bruised body was discovered on Thursday may have died from suffocation.

THE bruised and marked body of a woman was discovered by her young niece yesterday. Gardaí are treating the death as suspicious.

LIVES would have been lost if a scaffolding which became loose had collapsed in the centre of Dungarvan, gardaí said yesterday.

HEIR to the British throne Prince Charles will make a secret visit to Waterford tomorrow as the principal guest at the 60th birthday bash for Lord Hartington, son of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.

A 46-year-old father-of-three has received two life sentences after pleading guilty to the murder of his wife and her former boss, a well known publican in Co Waterford last year at the Central Criminal Court today.

A DRASTIC reduction in the number of gardaí in the west Waterford region has left the area vulnerable to a spate of crime.

The Army showjumping team is gunning for a share of the €30,000 prize fund at the Dairygold Indoor Show at Millstreet, Co Cork, this weekend, according to one of its top riders.