THE RDS will host a new International competition for 7 & 8 year old show jumping horses at the 2010 Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show. This new class is the first recommendation adopted from the RDS Expert Breeding Group, set up under the Chairmanship of Dr Patrick Wall to ensure the Dublin Horse Show supports the production of Irish bred show jumpers that are competitive in the International arena.
The purpose of this competition is to highlight the pedigrees of top foreign bred young horses so that Irish breeders and producers might have the opportunity to observe the progeny of foreign stallions that they may be interested in using in their breeding enterprises.
Invitations will be issued to each of the International Federations including Ireland represented at the Show, to nominate two horse and rider combinations to represent them in the competition. In addition, the class will serve to identify the best of Ireland’s 7 & 8 year old horses and to benchmark them against their European counterparts, as a further twenty Irish riders will be given the opportunity to qualify for and compete in the International competition which boasts a prize fund of €20,000.
The class will be a valuable opportunity for our national riders as it gives them a chance to compete in an International competition against some of the world’s highest ranked riders. It will set a very high standard for both the riders and their horses and in the long term the RDS would hope to see more top class horses coming through from Irish producers, riders and breeders. The new class will replace the current 7 Year Olds and 8 Year Old & Over competitions.
The competition will be confined to the 5 best placed horse & rider combinations at each of 4 RDS Horse Qualifiers in Coilog Equestrian Centre, Naas, Co. Kildare on the 26th of May; Barnadown, Gorey, Co. Wexford on the 2nd of June; Cavan Equestrian Centre, Co. Cavan on the 9th of June and County Clare Showgrounds, Ennis, Co. Clare on the 23rd of June.
Competition Outline & Rules
A maximum of 2 horses per rider will apply. The jumping course will be built to a height of 1.35m for the 7 year olds and 1.40m for the 8 year at both the qualifiers and the final. The speed will be set at 350 m/minute. The class will be judged under FEI Table A acc. to Article 238.2.2 and in the event of an equality of points there will be a jump off.
A total prize fund of €20,000 will be awarded over the three rounds of the class at the RDS.
The class will be an International competition and judged under FEI rules and therefore all qualified or nominated competitors will be required to attend the trot-up on Tuesday, the 3rd of August. Vaccinations must be in line with the current FEI requirements. FEI passports will not be required for the nationally qualified horses; however, all competing horses and riders must be registered with the FEI.