Not as much horseplay but it’s still showtime

THE five-day Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show which opened at Ballsbridge yesterday is still one of the country’s most colourful social and sporting events.

But the high jinks that often permeated the nightly celebrations during horse show weeks in the past are now fading memories, and so are practically all of their associated hunt balls.

The spirit of those days was once symbolised by the actions of The Bird Flanagan, a Dublin legend, hunting man and practical joker, at a time when there was not even a horse show in progress.