The 143rd Dublin Horse Show gets underway at the RDS this morning.
The show – which organisers claim is Ireland’s single biggest sporting event – will generate €10m per day for the local economy in bed nights, food & drink sales and retail spend.
Some 1,700 horses will be taking up residence in the city this week.
The show also incorporates everything from donkey displays, equestrian comedians and stuntmen to five-star showjumping from Olympic contenders.
Today will see Ireland’s four-man team for the famous Aga Khan Nations Cup announced by team manager Robert Splaine, who is aiming to win the famous gold trophy for the second year in a row.
Everyone is up & ready!!! The 2016 #DublinHorseShow is kicking off today at 9am!😃 pic.twitter.com/Te3pnuB4Th
— Dublin Horse Show (@DublinHorseShow) July 20, 2016
His squad of five includes Ireland’s highest ranked Irish rider Bertram Allen (Wexford), Rio-bound Greg Broderick (Tipperary), London Olympic bronze medallist Cian O’Connor (Meath), US-based Darragh Kenny (Offaly) and Denis Lynch (Tipperary).
“Typically, we’ll get over 100,000 people over the five days of the show,” said RDS chief executive Michael Duffy.
“And the show costs about €4.5m to stage, but it contributes about €45m to the economy, so it’s a very important national event.”
