DUBLIN Horse Show Director Fiona Sheridan was delighted and relieved after a “fantastic week” which saw 131,000 people attend the 151st Show, which this year welcomed Gallagher as the title sponsor and unveiled the new Anglesea Stand in the renamed Laya Arena.

“We had amazing sport in the arenas. The place never looked so good, so we were delighted with that,” Sheridan told The Irish Field.

Asked if the fact that there was no rugby or concerts in the Main Arena for the last 18 months made a difference, Sheridan said: “It definitely did. The root structure had so much time to bed in. It will probably never get that opportunity again and it’s just trying to keep that standard which will be a challenge, because we have to run other things on the arena, but it was excellent and everyone commented on it.” Leinster Rugby return to play at the RDS from October.

New stand

The new look stand came in for much praise during Horse Show week. Those on site were pleased with the new facilities it offered under the concourse, including bars and plenty of toilets, as well as the expanded space, which helped reduce the dense crowd alongside Ring 1 and 2 during the busy periods. The vantage points from the seats and back of the stand were described as fantastic throughout the week.

“That is the footprint we will be living with for the next while,” Sheridan said of the €52 million development. “There are a couple of other things we’ll be looking at doing around it, like the embassy boxes, we would like to get them back to an operational state again. And the old RDS offices down near Anglesea Road will become a unit for catering. But unless we get a major donation and can crack on with a permanent pocket structure, much of the development is done for now.”

One sticking point was the free viewing areas of the main arena for attendees on a general admission ticket, who could only access the standing areas of the new stand by paying a fee of around €10.

“The old terrace down by the Anglesea Road entrance is still there and free for people to stand in and we had an area for exhibitors to stand beside the riders’ pavilion. We will be reviewing all of that in due course. This was the first year of the stand and we were trying to figure out the best way to manage access,” said Fiona.

Centenary celebrations

The build up to Friday’s Aga Khan Nations Cup saw 25 Irish riders, who have won the competition in the past, welcomed into the arena and presented with special medals by the President of Ireland, Catherine Connolly. The presentation was shown live on RTÉ.

“That was a really special moment. There was a fair bit of planning that went into that, even just getting the riders there, but I think they really appreciated being part of it. It was kind of a moment in time that people won’t forget.”

Another new initiative this year was the RDS Elite foal sale on Friday evening, which saw a top price of €80,000 (see report on page 112). “It was a great success and a really positive thing that we added for the breeders. We had a few problems getting people into the arena and need a bit more planning around that for next year, but overall we were very happy with it.”

Summing up the week, Fiona said: “I think it was a great show for the industry. I think the few new additions that we had were really positively received and I think everyone was relatively happy at the end of it. There’s a lot of good feedback from the internationals in particular - the Germans, the Dutch and the Americans - they were blown away. I got so many comments on how it really is the best show in the world and I think they really meant it.”