LADY LUCK called "time" on the Irish Nations Cup team yesterday in the RDS where under a sullen sky they lost to the old enemy by half a time fault.
For the non horsey people this meant it lost by less than two seconds to a magnificent British team which was seeking some consolation for its losses in Atlanta at the Olympic Games.
Of course, the Irish who had entered the annual joust as favourites were looking for their Olympic consolation as well but lost in a thrilling finish.
The Irish crowd gave a hearty round of congratulations to the British team as it followed the massed pipe and drum band from the Air Corps and Naval Service around the arena at the end of the competition. The band played a selection of Scottish tunes and finished up with St Patrick's Day as the triumphant British team left the arena.
In the grandstand, the band's Commander in Chief, the President, Mrs Robinson, seemed to have enjoyed the competition but had decided earlier in the day to have nothing to do with horses.
Presidents have been traditionally driven through the arena in a special landau, a topless horse drawn carriage, before the Nations Cup. This year, officials in the Aras let it be known that the President would rather use Shanks's mare and walk through the populace.
Doing a lot of walking around the grounds yesterday were Garda Special Branch men who conducted one of the most intense but discreet security operations mounted for a Nations Cup. They had to contend with a large crowd, the largest in what has been a lacklustre week. The horse fraternity says the Wednesday opening of the show, a day later than usual, has caused them some confusion.
Some of the exhibitors, like leading horse producer Diana Gilna, believe the extra day added on to the show in the hustle and bustle of the showgrounds will be too much for some horses in the hunter classes. She will know the answer to that later today when the four year old hunters will be judged for championship honours.
There has also been a large fall in the number of Northerners attending the show. Some of them explained that the upsurge of tension in the North had meant many did not travel, not because they did not want to come to Dublin, but they worried about travelling back there this weekend.
The show continues today and ends tomorrow.