International, but on a cosy scale

The jockeys had their place in the sun last week at the Galway races, but this week the showjumpers take the main arena. The Dún Laoghaire International Horse Show, little brother to the Royal Dublin's big, kicked off a busy week for Irish showjumping, writes Siobhán Kane

It has been an event in the south Dublin calendar on and off since the beginning of the last century, and continues to grow stronger. The show's press officer, Breasal Ó Caollaí, says it's known as "the nearest you will get to a country show in Dublin".

The numerous children's amusements, which ranged from inflatable slides to abseiling, ensured the atmosphere was lively and noisy. Many stalls had an international feel, with Middle Eastern pastries, Tunisian pottery, South African teas, Ecuadorian crafts and Peruvian jewellery. This year there was a horticultural stand, a legacy of the now-defunct Dún Laoghaire Flower Show.

The timing of the show has always been very good. "We are on the first day of show-jumping week in Dublin. The Dublin Horse Show starts on the Wednesday, and the horses are stabled in the RDS. So they bring them out the short journey for a trot about and so forth," says Ó Caollaí. "If they pick up some prize-money that's better again for them."

The main event of the day is the Dún Laoghaire Grand Prix, a showjumping competition, which features an €8,000 prize- fund. Established riders taking part yesterday included Captain Shane Carey, Edward Doyle and Shane Breen.

Although "international" might be stretching it a bit, the show has seen some eminent visitors. Princess Haya, the daughter of King Hussein of Jordan, has attended several times, and in 1996 Ireland's Olympic showjumping team flew home from Atlanta ahead of other Olympians to make sure they were there. Among that group was renowned Irish showjumper Eddie Macken, who is a regular.

This year the show has a new home. Shanganagh is on the city side of the Wicklow/Dublin border, and is best known for its cemetery. Ó Caollaí says they had to move from the old site at the National Rehabilitation Centre in Dún Laoghaire.

"Pfizers are building on the old grounds. We knew we were going for the last three or four years." By agreement, the horse show was held on county council lands adjoining the cemetery yesterday. This proximity did prove a difficulty yesterday morning.

"A burial took place at about half-eleven. The loudspeakers at the showjumping arena had to be switched off." Union agreements could mean no funerals will be brought to the cemetery on future bank holidays.

The show costs around €55,000 to stage, and involves a dedicated committee and about 80 volunteers. Hugh O'Rorke, the vice-chair, has been on the committee since the 1960s. Fr Seán Cassidy has chaired the event for the past 16 years.

Each year a charity benefits from the show, with the donation averaging about €12,000. "It (the donation) motivates the volunteers. This year we're giving to an organisation we made a donation to before, St Joseph's Centre (a palliative care centre). It's right beside the new grounds."

The crowd is usually about 10,000. "We hope to get more people involved from Shankill and Bray in the coming years," Ó Caollaí says. "In Dún Laoghaire people feel it's a community event, and now we've moved venue, we want it to be a community event out here too."