Niche Travel

HAVING BEEN POSTPONED to accommodate the Olympics, Wednesday marks the start of the RDS Dublin Horse Show.

Billed highlights include displays from Jean-François Pignon, a Frenchman whose horses perform tricks without tack, ropes or whips.

All the top national and international show jumpers will be competing in the Main Arena, although the best place to observe them is the warm-up area outside, where it’s easy to see which ones are nice to their grooms.

For real drama you can’t beat the showing classes. Here riders are so beautifully turned out you’d think butter wouldn’t melt, but just watch how quickly things turn nasty if one cuts in front of another – accidentally of course – blocking them from the judges’ eye-line.

There’s the ignominy of being ‘gated’, always fun to watch, plus the fury of a judge tricked into mounting what turns out to be a mule. In such cases they’ll fling the reins back in disgust.

By the end of a showing class you’d fear for the judges’ safety as the remaining riders move in ever decreasing circles all furiously telepathising one thought – “pick me, pick me”.

For pure excitement don’t miss the young horse classes, the foals and yearlings, none of which will have experienced human interaction on such a scale as this, and respond accordingly.

For grace under pressure, rosettes should really go to their handlers who battle to retain composure while all around them four-legged animals are spinning on two. With the stallions you can almost see the speech bubbles appear over their heads: “Well to hell with this” – as they cart their people across the ring. Great stuff.

[ dublinhorseshow.com ]