The only way I can start this report is with WOW!!!!! What a perfect weekend of jumping in the most fabulous of venues, on fantastic surfaces - courtesy of the Bagnall Family who open their property to the showjumping fraternity for this weekend before Dublin Horse Show.

The program was huge with 6 rings running - 3 for horses and 3 for ponies and there were over 1,000 horses jumped each day and added to this there was the Dog Show which kept plenty amused.

Maureen Bagnall is an innovator in the sport of showjumping and was telling me that they have been offering email entry forms for some three years now and this year it was heavily utilised which is great news - the showjumping fraternity is becoming very computer literate which is great to see happening!

With so many rings running we will bring you photos from the weekend giving you the colour and atmosphere of the weekend and will give you the full run down on the IJM Timber Frame Grand Prix League Grand Prix's.

Ireland is perhaps not known for it's glorious hot summers but you would have been mistaken for believing this to be the truth this weekend - the sun shone in the brightest of blue skies all weekend with temperatures in the high 20's making it the perfect weather for jumping and spectating! Although we did have the strangest of things when on Saturday, the sky was blue with not a cloud in sight and suddenly it was spitting with rain - the answer to the question of "how can this happen?" was "oh well, it is Ireland"!


The first class I will give you results from however is the Ring 2, Young Rider class which was a part of the Equestrian.com League - this class was a combined class incorporating the 5 year old Cavan Qualifying class and the Junior and Young Rider class - there were over 160 entries in this class and I am very pleased to say that Australian Young Rider, Scottie Barclay won the Young Rider section riding Marylou Cassone's German bred gelding, Cinemax (pictured left).

The Trade Stands saw plenty of business and great to see Paddy Kennedy of EasyTap studs (pictured below left) doing great business - Paddy definitely has cornered the market with his excellent product - they are producing stainless steel studs which don't rust and have the best range of studs we have ever seen in any country.
Pictured above right Equestrian World of Maynooth are obviously now offering a "ride through" service. David and his well stocked saddlery in Maynooth are seen at all the major shows on the Irish circuit and are great supporters of the younger showjumping fraternity sponsoring Pony, Junior and Young Riders at many of the shows around the country. Equestrian World of Maynooth are worth a visit as they have a great range plus excellent prices on many items.
Pictured right we see the IJM Timber Frame signage going up in the main arena in preparation for the Grand Prix classes this weekend. IJM are sponsoring the League which includes a 1.40m Grand Prix and the 1.50m Grand Prix. This is a hotly contested circuit which sees the top Irish riders all vying to take final honours as the number 1 Grand Prix rider in the country.

The sponsorship of IJM is greatly appreciated by the showjumpers as without great support from people
like IJM there would be no Grand Prix Leagues running - so if you are in the process of planning to build make sure that you make IJM your first port of call for pricing - it is the best way to show appreciation for their sponsorship. Check out their products by clicking here

The restaurant at Ardass, Celbridge (pictured left) was perfectly located beside the main arena giving the perfect vantage point and the food was good value and very tasty indeed!

Brendan Cowley, Chairman of the Organising Committe and his Committe are definitely superb organisers who thought of everything including each ring havng their own drink/ice cream/ lolly stands so even if you had to make the long haul to one of the back rings you were not going to dehydrate!

Pictured left we see Gautama "Zac" Tschannerl jumping Marylou Cassone's super German bred gelding Euforia in the Welcome Stakes. Zac, from the USA has been based at Kill International Equestrian Centre for some years training with Denis Flannelly.

Pictured right we see Zac in a more "relaxed moment" as he gets out of
his riding gear - now before anyone worries that jumpingaround.com are about to publish endless pictures of showjumpers in various states of undress - this is a one off - our Editor was "dared" to publish this by the subject and we all know how difficult it is to "refuse a dare"!
The Doyle brothers are strong competitors on the Irish and International circuits and aside from being highly successful with their huge string of horses Jack and Edward are two of
the "nicest blokes" you could meet! Jack Doyle, pictured above left, spent some time in Australia in the 80's when showjumping was at an all time high and he has been a super help to te jumpingaround.com Aussie crew. Edward, pictured above right, currently has Australian showjump owners Ian and Pat Mouser based with him as he competes their two Irish bred stallions, Clover Flush, bred by Carmel and Dermot Ryan and also Carrick Clover who was seen this weekend in the 1.50m Grand Prix on Sunday placing a handy 5th in the class - more on this class in the following pages. Pictured below left is Ian Mouser sporting a good "Irish suntan"!

Pictured left is Gavin Dooley who has plenty to smile about as he moves into the RDS on Wednesday as he has qualified his father's Harristown King in the Junior class.

Gavin is the son of the "farrier to the stars" John Dooley who has also qualified for Dublin Show this week in the Teams event for Greenhills Riding Club.

If you are heading to Dublin this week make sure you keep an eye out for the Dooley Fan Club who we understand will be out in full force!

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