Frances cashes in at sun-baked Dublin Horse Show

KILDARE horsewoman Frances Cash won her 7th supreme hunter championship at a sun-baked Dublin Horse Show yesterday.

She took the title on Hochmagandy, a seven-year-old gelding owned by Peter and Louise Curling who are based in Co Tipperary.

It is was 20 years since ago that Frances Cash won her first supreme championship at the RDS but yesterday’s triumph was no less sweeter for her.

“It’s marvellous. It gets better every time,” said Ms Cash.

The horse, by Mandalus out of Native Shot, had one previous outing in the showing ring at Clonmel, Co Tipperary, but did not win.

Ms Cash said she was impressed with the horse at first sighting.

“He had the conformation and a good step. All we were worried about was to put condition on him. But it all came together at the right time,” she said.

A total of 1,500 horses and ponies were entered for the show, but few sales were reported although some deals are likely to be negotiated later.

Today is Nations Cup (Aga Khan) Day. Eight teams will take part and President Mary McAleese will attend.

The show, with Samsung and Fáilte Ireland as main sponsors, is one of only eight to be included in the Samsung Super League.

Meanwhile, the Irish Farmers’ Association president John Dillon said blaming the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for problems in the developing countries are ignores the facts.

Mr Dillon was speaking at the launch of an IFA report, ‘The CAP, Developing Country Issues and Globalisation’ at the a press briefing on the fringes of Dublin Horse Show.

He said the reality is that the EU offer on agriculture in the WTO negotiations goes a very long way to meeting the interests of the developing countries.

The alternative to the EU approach is the globalisation strategy of the Cairns group of countries and the US to some extent, which would be extremely negative for both the developing countries and the EU.

“The critics are failing to acknowledge the major reforms made to the CAP designed to make it compatible with the WTO negotiations,” he said.

Mr Dillon said the EU is by far the largest importer of agricultural products from developing countries.