Ireland's ladies look set to make their mark on the Kerrygold Horse Show which will run this year from Wednesday, August 4th to Sunday, August 8th.
The 126th Dublin Horse Show will be formally opened by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Mary Freehill, at a ceremony at noon. Flanked by the Garda mounted unit, the Lord Mayor will travel to the grounds in Ballsbridge from the Mansion House in the ornate Lord Mayor's coach. At the showgrounds, the Army Equestrian Team will, for the first time, have a female rider, Ms Danielle Quinlivan, from west Cork, who will be competing in the National Championships.
Reversing a policy which goes back a number of years, the Thursday of the show will once again officially become Ladies' Day.
The RDS and its sponsors had bowed to pressure that such an event was sexist and excluded half the population, and had held competitions for the "Best Dressed Person" of the show.
This year the competition will proceed but the prize money will be split six ways. On Friday, the President, Mrs McAleese, who was absent last year because she was on holiday in Donegal, will be the guest of honour at the Kerrygold Nations Cup.
Ms Marion Hughes, from Kilkenny and Ms Jessica Kurten, of Cullybacky, Co Antrim, will be wearing the green jacket of Ireland in the competition.
Both women hold the distinction of winning the prestigious Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Hickstead. Ms Hughes will be riding Flo-Jo and Heritage Charlton while Ms Kurten, who is based in Germany, will ride Paavo N and For-Joy.
Six national teams will be competing: Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, the US, Italy and Ireland will contest the Aga Khan Trophy which was won last year by Italy.
Announcing details of the event at the RDS in Dublin yesterday, Mr Shane Cleary, chief executive, said the number of entries in this year's event had risen to to 1,554 horses, ponies and donkeys.
He said there would be 11 international and 40 national show jumping competitions over the five days for a total prize fund of £225,000.
The main sponsor will again be the Irish Dairy Board which has been involved with the RDS since 1989 and has invested well over £2 million in sponsorship.