THIS week began with the wonderful news that Sweden proved a very happy hunting ground for Cork’s Shane Sweetnam as he and the 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding James Kann Cruz, triumphed in Falsterbo’s €500,000 1.60m Rolex Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon.
The class was the crescendo of the show and saw 50 of the world’s most accomplished show jumpers on the start list. Of those, 14 combinations jumped clear over German course designer Frank Rothenberger’s first-round track, with 12 proceeding to jump again. Seven combinations managed to keep all the fences intact second time out, with Germany’s Richard Vogel on Cloudio setting the time to beat at 38.63.
Sweetnam, who is currently ranked number five in the world, and the formidable James Kann Cruz (Kannan x CSF Telly Cruz by Cruising), bred by Patrick Connolly in Co Galway and owned by Gizmo Partners LLC, were last to jump, as leaders from round one, and they put in a breathtaking round of jumping, which was exciting to watch, as it was full steam ahead.
It was a first CSIO five-star Grand Prix triumph for Sweetnam, as well as a first Rolex Grand Prix success and his parents made the trip to see his success, which must have made it all the more sweet. Read all about his winning effort here.
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Another exciting milestone to mark this week is the three week countdown to the 2026 Gallagher Dublin Horse Show. The greatest show on earth for us equestrians returns to the RDS from August 5th to 9th and we couldn’t be more excited. Last year, we had the honour of covering the milestone that was the 150th edition of the Show, while this year, we will celebrate the 100th year of the Aga Khan Trophy, that much-coveted reward for the winning team of Dublin’s Nations Cup competition.
2026 is also extremely special because it is the centenary of the Irish Army Equitation School, whose products, both human and equine, have done Ireland so very proud in those 100 years.
We are very pleased to offer readers a beautifully-written feature by Louise Parkes, who tells the fascinating story of the Equitation School from its inception to the current day. We also present excerpts from some captivating interviews with Equitation School personnel, which were carried out by Michael Doherty in honour of the anniversary. Noel Mullins was on duty this year to pen a lyrical look at the history of the Aga Khan Trophy and, to round out our historical coverage, there is an archival picture gallery, showing the Army’s efforts at the RDS over the years, with thanks to the RDS Library and Archives team. We have so much to thank those who went before us for, and we hope they too enjoy being featured in the magazine this year!
Susan Finnerty’s chats with the legends that are Laura Kraut and Jessica Kürten are also highly recommended reading and don’t forget to check out your chance to win Dublin tickets!
We will be rolling out a feature from the magazine every day until Dublin on our website and you can catch them all here.
If, like me, you still prefer paper and ink you can order your copy here. We hope you enjoy the read and don’t forget to pop by our stand at the Horse Show to say hello!