Hickstead Nations Cup to be broadcast LIVE on RTÉ

2022 Aga Khan winners Ireland (l-r) Cian O’Connor, Shane Sweetnam, Michael Blake, Conor Swail and Max Wachman (Photo Sonya Hennessy)

The next leg of the CSIO5* FEI Nations Cup, in Hickstead this Friday, July 28th, will be broadcast live on RTÉ.

Ireland send a squad of Shane Breen with Cuick Star Cervec, Jack Ryan with BBS McGregor (ISH), Daniel Coyle with Legacy, Mark McAuley with GRS Lady Amaro (ISH) and Trevor Breen with Gonzalo for the five-star Nations Cup.

The broadcast will begin at 3.55pm, with the second round of action being screened live on the RTÉ News Now channel. Michael Blake’s team will be hoping for another strong performance in the run up to the RDS Dublin Horse Show in August, which will also be screened live by RTÉ.

Speaking about the announcement Ian Gaughran, HSI Media and Communications Manager, said: “We are thrilled to be bringing coverage of our senior show jumpers in five-star action from Hickstead.

“Yet again this has been a fantastic season for Irish teams, with the seniors already victorious at five-star level in Rome and Langley, while our Juniors and Young Riders also landed European Championships gold last week in Gorla Minore, Italy.

“We have a fantastic relationship with RTÉ, and the FEI, and can’t wait for the Nations Cup to be broadcast live from Hickstead as well as, of course, the Dublin Horse Show in two weeks.

“Ireland captured the nation’s imagination last year with a first Aga Khan trophy win since 2015 and we are looking forward to yet another superb Dublin Horse Show live on RTÉ.”

RTÉ producer, Sinead Murphy, who will oversee the coverage, added: “We are delighted to be showing the live coverage of the Nations Cup from Hickstead this weekend, ahead of what is always a fantastic few days at the Dublin Horse Show.

“Following on from last year, which saw RTÉ broadcast legs of the Nations Cup, as well as the successful documentary ‘Horse Country’, we were very happy to work with HSI again to bring live equestrian action to viewers on RTÉ.”

HSI’s six-part documentary ‘Horse Country’ is back on RTÉ screens ahead of the Dublin Horse Show next month.

The series tells the stories of people and their horses who make up the Irish Sport Horse world. It’s set in the Covid summer of 2021 when many sport horse events were cancelled, and those that did take place were attended only by the competitors and their close connections. While that diminished the atmosphere, the competitive passions were always in evidence with every character featured in Horse Country.

Horse Country tells stories of success, failure, frustration and exhilaration. They are treaded through different programs with many coming together at the Dublin Horse Horse Show at the RDS in the final episode. What each story thread has in common, is the passion and love that Irish people have for their horses.

The remaining five episodes of Horse Country will be shown on RTÉ 2 over the coming weeks in the lead-up to the Dublin Horse Show.

Episode two airs on Thursday, July 27th, followed on Tuesday, August 1st and Thursday, August 3rd at 7.30pm, followed by Tuesday, August 8th and concluding on Thursday, August 10th at 8pm.