Dateline: Ireland

Young Horses - no more performance enhancing boots

Riders and owners please note that performance enhancing boots should NOT be worn by 4 and 5 year old horses and will be BANNED in those classes at the RDS (Dublin Horse Show) qualifiers - and this presumably means they are banned at the Dublin Horse Show.

This ban is not before time - nothing worse than seeing young horses with these type of boots on (an example pictured below left ) - if you have to use them for 4 and 5 year olds then the horse really doesn't have the potential to be a top performer, does it!?

The Irish Army have a new horse

The 2007 season will see Sarah Kate Quinlivan without her super mare, Newmarket Girl. Sarah Kate took this mare, owned by Billy Daley, to great heights in 2006 when she made her Nations Cup debut very successfully and jumped brilliantly at Hickstead.

There will be many followers of Irish showjumping who will miss watching this dynamic combination.

The Irish Army are about to get a new Officer's wife!

Capt. Shane Carey and long time girlfriend, Sarah Phillips have finally decided to make honest folk of each other by announcing their engagement last week - hoping perhaps for the romanticism of a white wedding they plan to get hitched around Christmas time.

A strange warning appears in the SJAI (Showjumping Association of Ireland) Monthly Bulletin......

And we quote - "Members are not allowed to compete as owner, rider or to officiate in any capacity other than Medical Officer, Veterinary Officer, First Aid or Farrier, at Shows not affiliated to the SJAI which offer a prize fund in excess of €50/£50 per class. Members may participate at events such as AIRC, Irish Pony Club, Eventing Ireland, Dressage Ireland, Interschools and equivalent Northern Ireland Bodies etc. In the event of a breach of this Rule, members may face disciplinary procedures."

One would have to wonder what has provoked this type of warning - which effectively means nonaffiliated shows cannot be run as Course Builders, who are required to be members of the SJAI, are obviously not permitted to build. Therefore, without a Course Builder, it would be hard to run a showjumping show!

And the fun police are out in force.....in the name of safety!

For all those who got a motorised scooter for Christmas we have bad news! They are now banned, effective immediately, from all shows as they are considered a safety hazard. The ban also includes quads, cycles etc. - in other words everyone had better get out on the walking trails to get walk fit for the shows!

The Irish Para Showjumping Association of Ireland are looking for members......

Any showjumpers, over 16 years of age, with a physical disability are invited to to contact the association on phone: 086 228 3943 to organise grading for International and National competition.

The Para Equestrian Dressage riders are madly working to raise funds to get them to the World Championships in England later this year where they hope to qualify as a team fro Beijing. Anyone who has any fund raising ideas, or money they wish to donate, please contact Para Equestrian.

The dressage riders have been training and working very hard and 3 riders currently have their COC (certificate of competency) which enables them to ride at Paralympic standard.

Pictured left - Para Equestrian rider, Ailish Bryne has her COC with her own mare, Oberlina and now has a new ride (not pictured) with whom she will be seeking qualification.

Ailish trains in Arklow, County Wicklow, with guru status trainer, Niall Quirke who delights in seeing Ailish competing in both her Para Equestrian competitions as well as placing in the able bodied dressage competition.