Minister Coveney launches new city show jumping series

JUMPING In The City, which was announced in Dublin this morning (Wednesday), is a radical new initiative to bring show jumping into greyhound stadia in Irish cities during the summer.

Launched at Shelbourne Park Greyhound Stadium by Simon Coveney TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food, the Marine and Defence, Jumping In The City will take place in greyhound stadia in Limerick, Cork and Dublin on Friday nights during the month of June. It hopes to attract not just show jumping fans but also people looking for an alternative experience on their Friday night out.

Run by Horse Sport Ireland in conjunction with the Irish Greyhound Board and Show Jumping Ireland, Jumping In The City will see three different classes of competition each night, including an amateur series for grassroots riders, a Grand Prix for Ireland’s top riders and the big crowd favourite – a puissance where riders try to jump a huge red wall as it is built progressively higher.

The series begins in Limerick on Friday June 5th, moves to Cork on Friday June 12th, with the series reaching its finale in Shelbourne Park, Dublin on Friday June 26th. All events start at 6.30 and will run to 11pm.

“Recognising that the Sport Horse sector contributes in excess of €700m to the economy annually, I was delighted to be in a position to allocate extra funding to Horse Sport Ireland in budget 2015. Some of the extra funding is being used for this initiative which is part of Horse Sport Ireland’s programme to implement the recommendations in the “Reaching New Heights” strategy document that I recently launched.”

Minister Hayes said “I welcome the close collaboration between Bord na gCon and Horse Sport Ireland which brought about this innovative series of showjumping competitions. In working closely with Horse Sport Ireland, I commend Bord na gCon for exploring ways of generating extra commercial income from their excellent facilities at greyhound tracks, with the prospect of also attracting new audiences to greyhound racing.”

James Kennedy, Chairman of Horse Sport Ireland’s Finance Committee, said after today’s launch: “I believe Jumping In The City has the potential to move show jumping in Ireland to a whole new level. We have experienced terrific success in the sport all over the world, and it’s great that people can see more of our riders and horses performing within our own cities. Horse Sport Ireland is very grateful to Minister Coveney for providing funding for this new initiative. We also have to thank The Irish Greyhound Board for their co-operation on this project, and our affiliate body Showjumping Ireland who have really embraced the project.”

Geraldine Larkin, CEO of the IGB said “To have three of our Greyhound Stadium P.A. systems normally used by greyhound racing commentators’ announce Show Jumping results in this unique series of events is something that we are eagerly looking forward to!  The spectacle of top-class show-jumpers and their charges displaying their skills is something that will appeal both to the public and showcase the possible complimentary uses for our venues nationwide.”

She continued “All IGB stadiums started their lives as dual use venues sharing with such sports as soccer, athletics, GAA (indeed we still share grounds with Connacht Rugby in Galway).  Over the past number of years’  we have used our stadia for such alternative events as  Tag Rugby Seasons, Company Family Days, utilised our car-parks on non-race nights, hosted funfairs & circuses and even rented our suites as office space!   In our quest to continue to develop alternative business streams for our industry, this partnership with Horse Sport Ireland will showcase nationally what we can offer. We want to thank Minister Coveney for recognising the potential synergy between HSI and ourselves and we believe these events will open up further opportunities with other potential business partners.”

The Jumping In The City Series will be in support of Special Olympics Ireland Equestrian Athletes travelling to represent Ireland at the World Summer Games 2015.

Admission prices at each venue will be as follows:

€15 general admission
€10 OAP/Student
Children under 14 free if accompanied by an adult
€59.50 per corporate ticket, €220 for a table of four

Event details
The series will take place in three venues from 7pm to 10pm.
Friday 5th June Limerick Greyhound stadium
Friday 12th June Cork Greyhound stadium
Friday 26th June Shelbourne Park Greyhound stadium Dublin
 
The classes
There will be three classes each night
6.30pm Westwood/Ifor Williams trailers Amateur Series (max 16 athletes) 
8pm Grand Prix (max 16 athletes)
9pm 6 horse Puissance max (6 athletes)
10pm Prize Giving ceremony on foot (Amateur, Puissance and Grand Prix)

Edward Butler, on CSF Whiterock Cruise, with Simon Coveney TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food, the Marine and Defence, and Elizabeth Mair, Special Olympics Ireland Athlete, at the launch of ‘Jumping In The City’ which will take place in greyhound stadia in Limerick, Cork and Dublin on Friday nights during the month of June.