THREE days down at the 2025 Dublin Horse Show, with the Aga Khan Nations Cup just completed as we went to press.

It’s been a busy and brilliant few days at the 150th renewal of the greatest show on earth, even if the grounds are looking a little bit different. The Anglesea Stand as we knew it is now gone; in it’s place is about 30% of the new structure which looks like it will be impressive when finished with a vista looking out over both the Main Arena and Rings 1 and 2.

The Main Area is slightly shorter this year because of the North Stand, but riders report that the enormous ring is still more than big enough.

However, spectators standing behind the stand definitely made moving around on Friday afternoon a challenge. Overall, it’s a job well done so far by new Horse Show Director Fiona Sheridan and her team for keeping the standard high, despite plenty of ongoing construction.

Grassroots

On Wednesday morning, The Irish Field hosted a business briefing on the topic of the viability of riding centres and the importance of the grassroots of the industry.

Industry stakeholders turned out with great enthusiasm to tackle the important topic where the main concerns raised were insurance and the fact that riding centres are charged commercial rates on their buildings, rather than agricultural.

Importantly, there have already been steps taken by some of those in the room and MEP Nina Carberry, who joined The Irish Field on Thursday morning at our breakfast with the stars (see p79), has committed to meeting stakeholders to help bring the issue forward. So too has Horse Sport Ireland and we will follow the topic closely over the coming weeks.

There has never been a more important time to support the grassroots, in an age of inflation across the board and when horse welfare and horsemanship is at the forefront of public scrutiny.

There will be no industry if the grassroots is not thriving. It’s time to make a change and support these vital businesses. You can read the full report on pages 80-81.