The honour of opening the Kerrygold Dublin Horse Show, which gets under way at 9 a.m. today at Ballsbridge, goes this year to Dublin's Lord Mayor, Cllr Mary Freehill.
The absence of the President from last year's horse show caused some controversy, but a spokeswoman for Mrs McAleese said yesterday that the President had confirmed some time ago that she would be attending the event this year. Presidents have traditionally attended the show down the decades.
Mrs McAleese will be at the Royal Dublin Society's show grounds on Friday for the highlight of the week, the Nations' Cup international showjumping competition.
A record number of horses, ponies and donkeys have been entered for the show this year. More than 900 animals will be paraded in the show rings and some 600 horses and ponies, including 90 international jumpers, will be in competition for the show jumping honours.
Inside the showgrounds, visitors will find over 5,000 metres of open exhibition space occupied by 253 trade exhibitors from all over Europe.
This morning the Lord Mayor will ride in a horse-drawn carriage from the Mansion House to the showgrounds, where she will perform the opening ceremony at noon. She will be accompanied on the route by an escort from the Garda Mounted Unit.
Outside the showgrounds the Lord Mayor is likely to pass Mr Tom Hardiman, from Craughwell, Co Galway, who will be protesting for changes in the sport of foxhunting.
Mr Hardiman is unique in the league of protesters because he supports hunting and has followed the Galway Blazers hunt for many years around his own county. But now he wants changes in the sport to prevent huntsmen "digging out" foxes or cubs which have gone underground when being pursued.
Yesterday, a spokesman for the RDS defended the admission charges for the Nations' Cup competition on Friday. Admission to the seated area of the arena will cost £12. Admission to the show costs £7 per adult.
The spokesman said that traditionally the prices of seats in the arena for the Nations' Cup competition were higher than during the rest of the week. The increase was partially due to the big demand for seats. "However, those who do not get a seat can watch the competition free from the terraces," he said.