EQUESTRIAN: As many as 15 members of the Saudi royal family could be based in Ireland over the summer months as part of a three-year training contract agreed with world show-jumping champion Dermott Lennon last week.
Lennon, who is jumping at the Dubai International this week, has agreed to bring a group of handpicked riders over to Europe for training and, although details have not yet been finalised, the Irish equestrian industry could be the chief beneficiary.
Under the terms of the new contract, which comes hot on the heels of a €1.7 million sponsorship deal with a member of the Saudi royal family, Lennon will fly to Saudi Arabia early next month to assess the riders and select a group to go into training with two horses apiece.
He will also be evaluating the horses currently in the exclusive Riyadh stables owned by His Excellency Rayadh Almalik and hopes to source some of the new horses for the project in Ireland.
"This deal should bring a lot of business to Ireland," Lennon said in Dubai last night after riding Impact into third place in the Equitrans Masters.
"There is an unexploited market for showjumpers in the Gulf, where showjumping is a fast growing and popular sport.
"I'll have to assess the level of riders in Riyadh and hope I'll be able to find horses at home to suit the riders with potential."
After three months' training at home in Saudi, the riders will be brought over to Europe for more competition experience.
Ireland has been put forward as a possible base for the squad and there are a number of top facilities that could be used, including Kill International, which hosted the equestrian events at last summer's Special Olympics, and the Cavan Equestrian Centre.
Despite the lucrative new contract, Lennon's main aim this year is the Athens Olympics, although his world-championship ride Liscalgot is still out of action from a leg injury last year.
The mare is back in Lennon's yard in Holland and top vets in Dubai have offered to look at X-rays of the injury in an attempt to return Liscalgot to competition in time for the Games.
If the mare is ruled out, Lennon needs to find a replacement rapidly. He has already missed a vital cut-off point and any new horse would have to already be in Irish ownership if he is to meet the stringent Olympic criteria, which state that horses must be owned by a national of the country they are representing before January 1st of Olympic year.
EQUITRANS MASTERS: 1, UAE's Quatro H (Abdullah Humaid), 0 faults, 37.8 seconds; 2, Saudi Arabia's Maeem (Khalid Al Eid), 4, 34.4; 3, Ireland's Impact (Dermott Lennon).
SPEED STAKES: 1, Bahrain's Tawi (Abbas Essa), 0, 65.01 seconds; 2, UAE's Cultivee (Khalid Al Junaibi), 0, 65.55; 3, UAE's Tip Top (Abdullah Humaid), 0, 66.26; 9, Ireland's I Caesar (Dermott Lennon), 4, 65.81.
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