Ballindenisk offer €50,000 carrot to riders

Ballindenisk Horse Trials is boosting its attractiveness with the offer of a €50,000 bonus.

The Goresbridge Go For Gold Bonus will apply at the Cork venue’s September 2013 fixture and be open to the winning horse/rider combination in this September’s and next April’s short-format classes.

Ballindenisk, near Watergrasshill, has gone from strength to strength in recent years, attracting the cream of the sport. Organiser Peter Fell said the initiative was another step in putting the venue on a par with its European counterparts.

“This bonus will, potentially, make Ballindenisk one of the richest competitions in the world and this is acknowledged by the interest we are receiving from riders. We are hoping British royal Zara Phillips will return, having won here last year. The World No1 William Fox-Pitt is also talking about coming over. He told us that ‘it was more than enough money for him to aim a horse at’.

“We have a vision for Ballindenisk and have been making big strides in recent years to put it on the international eventing map. Our first event was held in 1974 and we are the oldest venue in the country. It has always been a permanent fixture on the Irish calendar, but, genuinely, by 2017 we plan to rival the best events in Europe.”

Ireland has not staged a senior European Eventng Championships since 2003 at Punchestown and, while Mr Fell was loathe to say this was on the agenda for Ballindenisk, he would not rule it out.

Britain’s Oliver Townend, one of the world’s foremost eventers, won the feature class in February in Ballindenisk and has every intention of kick-starting his bid for the bonus in September.

“I will definitely be there, it’s a great step forward for eventing in Europe,” said the 2009 Badminton champion.

Bandon-based Michael Ryan described it as a major boost for the sport. “This is a brilliant addition and what we need in Ireland, it will take some winning, but it is a lot of money.”

The Ballindenisk event is scheduled for September 12-16, while the date of the April 2013 international has yet to be confirmed.