THE world of equestrian journalism is poorer this week after the sad passing of Margaret Shaw, longtime showing correspondent for Horse & Hound and regular contributor to The Irish Field.

I was only fortunate enough to meet Mags once. That was on my first visit to the Horse of the Year Show where she took me under her wing, showed me around the press room and introduced me to many new faces. Mags was hugely respected around the ring, described as an old school press correspondent who spent hours ringside with her notepad, and the tributes that have flooded in from the showing and show jumping world this week show that.

A tribute from Showing Live said “press colleagues learned much from Margaret with regards to protocol and held her in respect” and this was certainly true. She took huge pride in her work, be it from far flung country shows or the biggest events in the UK.

“Her knowledge of showing and her enthusiasm for the sport was second to none,” said the All England Jumping Course, England in a tribute.

She was a regular at the Dublin Horse Show and also made many trips to the Northern Ireland Festival, which takes place next weekend, as well as Balmoral and was respected as an excellent judge. All at The Irish Field extended condolences to Margaret’s family and friends, she will be greatly missed.

Eventing dates

As we went to press on Friday evening there was no white smoke on the ongoing negotiations between Eventing Ireland and the Event Organisers Group in relation to the insurance issues which have hindered finalising dates for the eventing season in the south of the country. It is understood a dates meeting took place on Tuesday however no further dates have been confirmed at this stage.

Meanwhile, congratulations to Pat Hanly who has taken early retirement from the RDS after 27 years of service, and to Fiona Sheridan who has taken over as the Dublin Horse Show Director for 2025. We wish both Pat and Fiona well as we head towards the 150th year of the famous five-star show.