IRELAND is blessed with five diverse and highly acclaimed international event venues, each one with its own unique appeal. An aspect they do have in common however is their popularity among overseas riders, and at Camphire House last weekend, another top contingent travelled to Co Waterford for the eighth renewal of this well supported international fixture.

Camphire has been described as Ireland’s ‘boutique’ event and with its scenic backdrop of Camphire House, together with rolling parkland and the River Blackwater, the location is unrivalled. Since its inception, the organising team led by Paul and Allen Brady have raised the bar annually, and this year the duo introduced a long format CCI3* class to the schedule. The event is also the only one of the quintet to run over a working farm, which produces its own logistical challenges.

HUGELY GRATEFUL

“Getting the farm up to the required level that a competition of this standard requires takes a lot of work, and adds to both the time spent and the cost,” explained Paul Brady. “Without our sponsors we certainly couldn’t do it, so we are hugely grateful to them all, and especially to our CCI3* and CIC3* sponsors Gain Equine Nutrition and Alltech.”

As the team at Camphire are constricted by the acreage available to them, the planning of the new long format track presented quite a challenge. In the end, the required minimum distance was easily exceeded, and while the course needed strong navigational skills, it rode extremely well. The feedback was positive and led to Brady comment, “We were pleasantly surprised how well it worked. We got both the distance and the entries, which was most encouraging. The undulations we have here lent themselves well to a three-star course, and we managed to get in some good long galloping stretches as well.”

The topical subject of ground conditions delivered only positives at Camphire, as rain during the week, together with some timely aerating, had produced foot-perfect going. Riders were universal in their praise, and the competition benefited as a result. Horses enjoyed the best of ground around Ann Waistell’s clever show jumping tracks, and were happy to gallop for the time in the country.

Having experienced an array of weather conditions over the past few years, it was fortuitous that Sunday’s gloomy forecast did not come to fruition.

BUMPER CROWd

Overall the event enjoyed a fair bit of sunshine, mixed with a few heavy showers, but none bad enough to deter the bumper crowd of spectators who poured through the gates over the weekend. The equestrian action was well supported, while the country village, the children’s area, the falconry display and the dog show proved especially popular.