Ireland grabs its share of international attention this week with Tattersalls International Horse Trials getting underway in Co. Meath today and Mullingar hosting its two-star international show jumping meeting over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Bertram Allen returns to the scene of a memorable victory this weekend as he lines out in Bordeaux at the final showjumping qualifier in the European division of the 2018/2019 FEI World Cup series.

The year is getting off to a familiar start for Irish riders based in the US as the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) commences in Wellington, Florida today and continues for three months.

Irish show jumper Cian O’Connor has been elected to represent the world’s show jumpers on the Jumping Committee of the FEI, equestrian sport’s world governing body, it was announced this week.

The Irish eventing team kept their nerve to hold onto the silver medal on the final day of the eventing competition at the World Equestrian Games in North Carolina yesterday where Pádraig McCarthy added to the Irish haul by claiming silver in the individual competition.

A flawless cross-country performance on Saturday has the Irish eventing team holding the silver-medal position going into today's show jumping decider at the world championships in Tryon, North Carolina.

The opening ceremony for the World Equestrian Games (WEG) took place last night in Tryon, North Carolina and the first of thirteen days of action gets underway today. Endurance, Reining and Dressage are the disciplines kicking things off and Ireland is represented in all three.

With equestrian sport’s world championships, the World Equestrian Games, less than three months away, Irish eventing was boosted at the weekend by a number of stellar performances at the four-star German meeting at Luhmühlen.

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

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.

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.

Ireland show jumping manager Robert Splaine underwent surgery for a broken wrist this week, but Taylor Vard, his stand in for tomorrow’s Furusiyya Series nations cup in Ocala, Florida, is upbeat about sending him a nice get-well present.

Trish Ryan and Sam Watson had one thing in common after their dressage tests in the CCI three-star at the Ballindenisk International Horse Trials, in that they were both surprised.

Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) has lodged an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding the debacle at last month’s European Championships that saw Cian O’Connor impeded in his round and Ireland denied a place in next year’s Olympics.

Joseph Murphy was “really happy” after helping Ireland to a solid start that left them fifth of 11 teams in the European Eventing Championships at Blair Castle, Scotland, yesterday.

Ireland eventing manager Nick Turner believes “there’s a lot to look forward to”, as he announced his squad for September’s European Championships at Blair Castle, Scotland.

Sam Watson is as confident as the capricious sport of eventing will allow that he will give a good account of himself when defending his CIC three-star title at Camphire International Horse Trials this weekend.

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.

Ireland eventing high performance manager Nick Turner says securing qualification for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro has meant for a “switch in focus”.

Patricia Ryan hopes Dunrath Eclipse will pass his biggest test to date when he tackles today’s cross-country phase at the Johnson and Perrott Land Rover International Horse Trials in Cork.

Sam Watson slotted into third after dressage yesterday in the long-format three-star class at the Johnson and Perrott Land Rover International Horse Trials at Ballindenisk, Co Cork, but was in no mood to get ahead of himself.

Ireland show jumping manager Robert Splaine spoke yesterday of "sacrifices" made in preparation for the Alltech World Equestrian Games, but they counted for nought as the team failed to secure a place in the Rio Olympics.

Eventer Sarah Ennis yesterday highlighted the leading role played by show jumping coach Ian Fearon in Ireland achieving Olympic qualification at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) at the weekend.

Ireland’s eventers booked their place in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics yesterday when finishing sixth and securing the last qualifying place at the Alltech World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Normandy, France.

Sarah Ennis greatly appreciated the lack of applause as she cruised into an impressive 10th place on Horseware Stellor Rebound at the Alltech World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France, yesterday.

The Alltech World Equestrian Games (WEG) begin in Normandy, France, today, with 21 riders carrying Irish hopes.

The strategic plan envisaged by the troika of Horse Sport Ireland, Teagasc and the RDS is fundamentally all about ensuring the horse sector can deliver on its potential.

“Wonderful, wonderful,” was the reaction yesterday of Joseph Murphy following his win with Sportsfield Othello in the feature three-star contest at the Johnson and Perrott Land Rover International Horse Trials at Ballindenisk, Co Cork.

Sam Watson proved best of the Irish at the European Eventing Championships in Malmo, Sweden, placing 21st, as the team finished seventh of 10 countries.

Ireland eventing manager Nick Turner conceded he “had to make a few difficult phonecalls in the last few days” as he finalised his squad for next month’s European Championships.

Kildare rider Aoife Clark’s rise up the leaderboard at the Badminton Horse Trials saw her finish in eighth place yesterday.

Aoife Clark and Master Crusoe added just 0.8 time penalties on the cross-country at Badminton Horse Trials yesterday, rising four places to 12th.

It could be argued that Sam Watson’s single-mindedness at Ballindenisk last week cost him a shot at the €50,000 bonus on offer next September.

Briton Ollie Townend doubled his chances of pocketing a €50,000 bonus next September when victorious with the Irish-bred Douglas at Ballindenisk International Horse Trials in Cork yesterday.

Ireland’s show jumpers joined the Netherlands, Germany, the US, Belgium and Portugal in failing to make the second round of the five-star Promotional League Nations Cup at Gijon, Spain, on Saturday.

Para-Olympian Helen Kearney showed she has what it takes yesterday, when placing third in her grade on the second day of the team equestrian competition in London.

Eventer Sam Watson is targeting a big performance in the four-star show at Burghley, England, at the end of the month, having won the feature three-star class at Camphire, Co Waterford, yesterday.

A shortlist of 10 riders and 11 horses has been put together for Olympic consideration by Team Ireland Equestrian’s eventing high performance manager Ginny Elliot.

Ireland eventing high performance manager Ginny Elliot yesterday stressed the importance of Barbury Horse Trials as she makes her final deliberations regarding her Olympic selection.

Eventing rider Sam Watson pulled off a stunning recovery to finish eighth in the three-star at Saumur, France, yesterday.

Twenty minutes after his dressage test in Saumur yesterday, Sam Watson was candid in his summing up: “It was awful.”

Ireland has won places for 13 horses and 11 riders in Badminton Horse Trials, something eventing high-performance coach Ginny Elliot yesterday described as “fantastic”.

Shane Breen obviously hopes Billy Twomey and Denis Lynch secure places for Ireland at the Olympics, but he also believes it is logical there should be a “level playing field” when it comes to selecting who lines out in London.