A PHOTO call was held at Horse Sport Ireland in Naas on Friday 12th February to launch the HSI Chippison Spring Tour 2010. Previously known as the ‘HSI Guidam Spring Tour’, 2010 sees new sponsors John and Marie Burke coming on board with Horse Sport Ireland and the Showjumpers Club. Thoroughbred Remedies, Darragh Equestrian Solutions, Comfort Zone, Jaguar Saddles and Showjumping Ireland will support the Tour.

SPAIN will see Tipperary's Denis Lynch try to gain World Cup points this weekend, when he lines out at Vigo's five-star show from Friday. The 33 year-old Irish rider competes at the Cotogrande Fair Grounds in the historic city venue on the north Atlantic coast with Flaminia Straumann's gelding 'Nabab's Son' and her father Thomas's 'All Inclusive NRW'.

Brendan McArdle reports from the Grand Prix at Abu Dhabi. The audio file can be downloaded here.

THE final fences cost Ireland dear in today's (Saturday) 300,000 euro Grand Prix at Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, with both Cork's Billy Twomey and Mayo's Cameron Hanley collecting faults at the last obstacles in the jump-off. Twomey and Sue Davies's bay stallion 'J'Taime Flamenco' were first to go in the 11-horse final round but picked up four faults at the last fence to finish in eighth place overall.

THE Irish show jumping team today (Friday) finished seventh of 11 teams taking part in the Abu Dhabi Nations' Cup in the United Arab Emirates, and will donate their prize money of 4,000 euro to GOAL for the Haiti Earthquake relief fund. A clear from Billy Twomey and 'Je t'Aime Flamenco' in the first round left Ireland with eight faults in total after fences down from team-mates Dermott Lennon, Cameron Hanley and Cian O'Connor, and this put them in the top six teams who went through to Round Two.

DENIS Lynch took fourth place tonight (Friday) in the first major competition of Bordeaux's five-star World Cup weekend. The 33 year-old Tipperary rider, piloting Flaminia Straumann's bay gelding 'All Inclusive NRW', was one of eleven combinations through to the Prix Generali jump-off from a starting field of 37.

DERMOTT Lennon signalled Irish intentions when he took the trophy for the opening five-star competition at Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates this afternoon (Thursday) against stiff opposition from a 46-strong field. The Co. Down-based rider, who is a former World Champion, successfully steered Allan Davidson's ten year-old mare 'Tolett' through the two phases today to claim the 5,600 euro prize, beating Swiss challenger Clarissa Crotta by just over half a second in the final round.

IRISH Team Manager Robert Splaine has announced the jumping order of his team for Friday afternoon's Nations' Cup clash at the five-star show in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, which will now start at noon today (Friday), Irish time.

THE horses from the Irish and British teams taking part in the Nations' Cup have entered their huge boxes in the fully air conditioned stables at Abu Dhabi and are looking quite happy, reported the organisers today (Tuesday). Even though Europe is in the middle of a very cold winter, Spring is “in” for horses and riders from 11 countries at the first CSIO5* in Abu Dhabi, “The President of the UAE Showjumping Cup”.

THE Irish Show Jumping Team have announced that they will donate any prize money they win in the Nations’ Cup in Abu Dhabi on Friday (February 5) to GOAL to aid the relief effort in Haiti. First prize in the Nations' Cup is 30,000 euro with 20,000 euro for second place and prize money down as far as 6,000 euro for sixth place.