Eight international teams to compete at RDS horse show

Next month's Dublin Horse Show offers visitors a chance to see gold medal contenders for this summer’s Olympic Games competing in this year’s Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup next month.

With many show jumping teams using Dublin as one of their final competitive preparations before going to Brazil, Ireland will have to be at their best to retain the Aga Khan Trophy they won in such style last year.

Battling them for top spot will be 2012 Olympic champions Great Britain, the USA, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, as well as Czech Republic who will compete for the first time. Czechoslovakia did compete once before, in 1933, but 2016 will be the first time a Czech Republic team competes.

This year the Dublin Horse Show has moved to 20th-24th July to accommodate riders competing at both Dublin and at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The last time the Show moved to July was in 1992 to accommodate the Barcelona Olympics, a year that saw Ireland win the Aga Khan Trophy. Ireland are also in the hunt to retain their title from last year which they won convincingly with a round in hand. Irish Olympic rider Greg Broderick went double clear for that win and he and Rio-bound MHS Going Global will be at the Show, as will other Irish riders who are performing very well on the international circuit, including Bertram Allen, Denis Lynch, Cian O’Connor and Daragh Kenny.

The Dublin Horse Show is one of the last five star events before the Olympic Games in August, and because of this a high level of competition is expected across the 14 international competitions as riders and horses get themselves up to speed.

The Furusiyya FEI Nations Cuptm at the Dublin Horse Show is one of the centre pieces of the Dublin Horse Show; a pinnacle event for the Irish Horse Sport industry that is worth €700 million to rural Ireland and responsible for 13,000 jobs. The show itself is worth over €45 million for the local economy and acts as a focal point for many people involved professionally and socially in equestrianism in Ireland.

Teams competing this year:

Czech Republic

France

Ireland – winners of last year’s Nations Cup; won St Gallen Nations Cup, June

Italy

Sweden

Great Britain – reigning Olympic Champions; winners of Rome Nations Cup, May

Netherlands – current World & European champions; winners of le Baule Nations Cup, May & Rotterdam Nations Cup, June

USA – winners of 2014 Nations Cup