Following it’s successful introduction during the FEI European Championships for Ponies last year, the Duggan Family is pleased to announce that the Young Champion of Ireland competition returns with a new format for 2015. With the generous support of Coolmore Stud, Young Champion of Ireland classes will be staged for 128cms, 138cms and 148cms ponies.

Qualifiers will take place across the country:

Mullingar EC (28th June)
Cavan EC (10th July)
Tubberbride (18th July)
South-East Clare (26th July)

A total of 24 Athlete and Pony combinations will qualify for the “Young Champion of Ireland” finals to be held during the 2015 Millstreet International Horse Show where the three Young Champions will each win a once in a lifetime trip for three to the London International Horse Show (Olympia) in December, including transport, accommodation and the chance to meet top riders. The Young Champion of Ireland will be decided over 2 competitions by means of a points scoring system. Single points will be awarded for the Table A class with double points being awarded for the Grand Prix class. The Winner will be the athlete who achieves the highest cumulative score.

Ireland’s Daniel Coyle clinched victory in the first International class of the week at the Millstreet International Horse Show on Thursday. Riding Conor Coyle’s Athlet Van’t Lozerhof, the three time Spring Tour Champion repeated his 2013 performance and posted a superb clear in the Horse Sport Ireland sponsored qualifier for Sunday’s €50,000 Grand Prix. Meath-based rider Alexander Butler finished just behind him with Michael Leddy’s Monastery Stud More Pleasure while Great Britain’s Laura Renwick took the third position on the podium after posting a clear round with David Rogers’ Rembrandt Blue.

On a day where riders and spectators endured a series of heavy rain showers Renwick proceeded to light up the Green Glens Arena with her performance in the Slaney Foods International 2 Phase class. Riding for John and Marian Renwick, the Essex rider steered Beluga to victory to post the first British win of the week, just in front of Ireland’s Richard Howley with Jennifer Ireland’s Hazel.

The Green Glens Arena has been a hive of activity this week, with over 8,000 entries received across 109 competitions. Competition got underway with a series of National and young horse classes on Tuesday and Wednesday. The National Eventing Discovery on Tuesday featured many of the fences that formed a part of the Cross Country course at the recent FEI European Championships for Ponies. These posed no problem for Bandon rider Allan McSweeney with his stalwart Rock a Bye Balladeer in the Six Year Old section. Visiting judge Rowland Fernyhough was joined by Kate Jarvey to assess the suitability of the horses entered in the 4 and 5 year old sections with the Five Year Old class going the way of Jason Higgins and the Michael Meade owned Shannondale Julia. In the Four Year Old section, Christopher Hunt took home the ribbons with Patrick Meagher’s Royal Luxor.

Fresh from a busy week at the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show, Billy Twomey made a welcome return to Millstreet and took pole position in Wednesday’s Dennany Reidy and Associates Boomerang Qualifier by jumping a superb clear with Codarco. The seven year old stallion is a former National Discovery champion and was brought up the ranks by Thomas O’ Brien. Earlier in the day, Ger O’ Neill recorded his first victory of the week with Sharon Fitzpatrick’s Ard Ginger Pop in the first Millstreet Ruby Qualifier for 5 year olds. Daniel Coyle took the honours in the second qualifier with Conor Coyle’s Harakiri Z.

The action continues at Millstreet until Sunday with plenty of top class International and National competitions still to come. Of the 8 International classes (including three Longines World Ranking classes), the €50,000 Millstreet International Grand Prix is the main highlight, taking place on Sunday 17^th August.

This evening’s Irish Farmer’s Journal Young Irelander Final looks set to be one of the strongest showcases of three year old horses in recent years while Saturday’s Irish Field sponsored National Discovery Final will also provide a fascinating insight into the International showjumping horses of the future. In another innovation for Millstreet International Horse Show, 2014 sees the introduction of an Elite Foal Sale which will be held on Saturday evening. The aim of the sale is to create a platform for Irish breeders to showcase their stock and to present buyers with the unique opportunity to buy a high class foal. The foals, which were pre-selected for the sale, are each from a proven show jumping performance family, including links to MHS Going Global, Electric Cruise, TKS Timeline, Diamond Exchange, Kilcoltrim, Castlepollard and Dorada. The foals will be paraded before the National Discovery class in the Main Indoor Arena with the sale following later that evening.

Speaking at the Rider’s Welcome Reception, event director Thomas Duggan extended a warm welcome to all the riders that have travelled to Millstreet, particularly those who had travelled from abroad. “Millstreet International Horse Show comes on the back of a highly successful FEI European Championships for Ponies where our younger riders truly excelled. I’m looking forward to more great competition this weekend.”

Action from the main classes is being streamed live on www.millstreethorseshow.ie where regular updates and live scoring can also be found. If you’re looking for a family day out with free admission, world-class showjumping, a wide range of trade exhibitors (including saddlery, leisurewear and footwear, pet accessories and more) then look no further than the Millstreet International Horse Show 2014!

Great Britain’s Ellen Whitaker rode a superb second round to take the Hyatt Hotels Millstreet International Grand Prix in Co. Cork this afternoon. Having incurred four penalties in the first round, Ellen jumped the only clear in the deciding round with Old Lodge’s KWPN “Zanzibar V” to take the €16,500 winners cheque back to Yorkshire. Captain Michael Kelly had to settle for second place; adding four penalties to his clear first round with the Minister for Defence’s Irish Sport Horse “Ringwood Glen.” The Grand Prix also formed the final of the Connolly’s RED MILLS GBI Tour. Having included competitions at Chepstow (Wales), Mullingar, The Royal Highland Show (Scotland) and the British Masters (Southview, England), the Leading Rider Prize was awarded to Great Britain’s Steven Whitaker and “Locarno 62,” who slotted into 6^th position but picked up vital points to add to their success at the Royal Highland Show earlier this year.

The Green Glens Arena has been a hive of activity since Wednesday with nearly 8,000 entries received across 97 competitions. Earlier today, Toomevara-based Liam O’ Meara occupied the top two positions in the five year old Underwriting Exchange Millstreet Ruby Final with “Curraighgreyjack Takes Flight” and “Kennyflight.” In the Diageo Boomerang Final for 6/7 Year Olds, Millstreet local Jeremy Sweetnam and “Cantor” emerged on top while the Irish Pony European Medallists dominated the Shavings.ie 148 1.30m Grand Prix Final with Killian Norris and “Claggan Gypsy Delight” taking the title just ahead of  Susan Fitzpatrick on “Rock Dee Jay.” The KBC Bank/Calor International Consolation class went the way of Spain’s Antonio Marinas Soto who topped a largely Irish-dominated scoreboard.

On Saturday, Wexford’s Bertram Allen took the top position in the feature class. Riding Billy Twomey’s “Romanov,” the Individual Silver Junior European Medallist’s faultless performance in the Connolly’s RED MILLS Millstreet Masters earned him a second win of the week. Finishing just eight hundreths of a second behind was Great Britain’s William Whitaker with “Upperclass” while current RED MILLS GBI Tour leader Steven Whitaker and “City Banking 3” completed the line-up. Later in the day, the Green Glens Arena echoed with the sounds of “Amhrán na bhFiann” once again; this time in honour of the Irish Field Speed Derby winner Joan Green who rode Ciaran Cronin’s “Abbey Colleen” to victory. Jessica Burke took second spot in a hotly contested competition that resulted in only two clear rounds from the forty two that started.

Millstreet’s commitment to the Irish equestrian industry continued this week with strong renewals of the various young-horse classes. The Irish Farmer’s Journal Three Year Old Young Irelander Final was won by Ronnie Hollinger’s “Creevagh Limited Edition” while Jim Derwin took top honours in the Irish Field National Four Year Old Discovery with “Deep Pockets.” The show also continues to nurture young equestrian talent through the Hitchmough Bursary. This year’s recipient was Aoife McCabe from Kilcolgan in Co. Galway who will now travel to Great Britain to train with Olympic show-jumper Billy Twomey later in the year.

A number of new initiatives were introduced to the show this year, including the successful running of the inaugural Two Year Old Futurity class. For the first time, the main classes from the show were streamed live on the internet, attracting over 1,000 viewers from over 9 countries. Speaking at the conclusion of the show, Event Director Thomas Duggan declared the week’s proceedings to be a resounding success. “Having returned to International competition last year, we have continued to look forward and develop the show. The standard of competition we have seen this week proves that Millstreet is becoming an unmissable event for International riders and we are already making plans for 2014!”

Final preparations are being made at the Green Glens Arena this week in advance of the 2013 Millstreet International Horse Show (CSI***), taking place from 14^th – 18^th August. Returning to its traditional date in the equestrian calendar, the stage is set for one of the biggest shows yet, with the number of entries received already matching last year’s figures.

The International classes across the week are likely to provide strong competition, with the home team headed by 2012 Olympic Bronze medallist Cian O’ Connor. As well as many of the other top showjumping riders in the country, he will be joined by Nation’s Cup rider Capt. Michael Kelly, leading National Hunt jockey and Hickstead 2013 Speed Derby winner Robert Power, reigning TRM/Horseware National Grand Prix League Champion Greg Broderick and Individual Silver Junior European Medallist Bertram Allen. A strong International contingent will be making the journey across the Irish Sea, including 2012 raider and former European Team Bronze medallist Guy Williams, British rider Louise Saywell and four members of the legendary Whitaker family. Millstreet will also welcome competitors and visitors from further afield, including Spain and Canada.

The show will feature 97 classes running over five days, with a total prize fund in excess of €180,000. Of the 8 International classes (including three Longines World Ranking classes), the €50,000 Millstreet International Grand Prix is the main highlight, taking place on Sunday 18^th August. Once again, Millstreet is delighted to host the final of the Connolly’s RED MILLS GBI Showjumping tour. Having included competitions at Chepstow (Wales), Mullingar, The Royal Highland Show (Scotland) and the British Masters (Southview, England), the €10,000 Leading Rider Prize will be determined by the outcome of the Grand Prix. With “Points and a half” on offer, current GBI contenders Steven Whitaker, Alexander Butler and Richard Howley will each be hoping the main competition goes their way.

While competition will be hot across the week, the show-jumps themselves are also likely to attract attention. In addition to the spectacular Irish-themed jumps that were introduced last year, a number of the feature fences from the London 2012 Olympic Games will grace the Main Arena. Visitors to the Green Glens Arena will also encounter changes to other areas of the show, including improved stabling, administration and arena surfaces.

Away from the International action, Millstreet’s commitment to supporting the Irish equestrian industry continues, with a strong entry received for young horse classes including the Boomerang, National Discovery, Young Irelander and Millstreet Ruby. A new addition to the schedule is the “Two Year Old Futurity” class which has attracted interest from across the country. The National Eventing Discovery takes centre stage on Wednesday afternoon with Ireland’s top event horse riders and producers competing for a prize fund of €4,000. Younger riders are also catered for with a host of pony classes; including Ireland’s richest Pony Grand Prix with a prize fund of €4,500.

If you’re looking for a family day out with free admission, world-class showjumping, a wide range of trade exhibitors (including saddlery, leisurewear and footwear, pet accessories and more) then look no further than the Millstreet International Horse Show 2013!