THE 14th annual Irish Breeders’ Classic is underway at Barnadown Showjumping having kicked off on Wednesday. The prestigious show is a firm favourite in the Irish show jumping calendar, hosting the world’s richest young horse class, and with a total prize fund in excess of €120,000.

The Irish Breeders’ Classic has a new format this year with two separate championships with an increased prize fund - €20,000 for the five-year-olds and €20,000 for the six-year-olds. The grand finals take place in the main Irish Horse Board arena on Sunday, following the €10,000 seven and eight-year-old final. Sunday morning will see the €5,000 ORHRE four-year-old final take place.

Friday sees the 1.40m Premier Performance National Grand Prix Final take place, while Saturday’s highlight is the final of the Plusvital Premier Grand Prix series which will see the 2025 Irish national show jumping champion crowned. The top of the leaderboard is extremely tight and should lead to a thrilling finale. Niamh McEvoy leads the way with Olympic GL FVD on 27 points, just ahead of Susan Fitzpatrick and Valisco PS on 25 points. Cathal Daniels is in third with Cappog Tomy (22) and McEvoy is also in fourth with Flora Du Mesnil (20).