FOUR very active members of Cheval Riding Club, and their husbands, were among the large Irish contingent who attended the inaugural Global Champions Playoffs in the O2 Arena in Prague last weekend.

“The production of the show was something else,” enthused show jumper Laura Carrick who was accompanied on the trip to the Czech capital by husband Adam Monk who, in common with the other three spouses, doesn’t do any riding at all. “I hadn’t seen anything like it before – the lighting, music and screen graphics were brilliant and, of course, it was great to see the Irish boys in the line-up of the final team event.”

Laura’s cousin Maria Carrick, who has re-joined the Cheval committee as secretary on a temporary basis, was on the trip with husband Declan Donnelly while making up the party of eight were Ashling Bradwell and Peter Robson and Ger and Dave Teeling. They flew out of Dublin on Friday and returned on Monday to be greeted by wind and rain but it was a lot warmer than it had been in Prague.

“You definitely had to dress for the cold,” said Laura. “With the jumping being at night, we had plenty of time to go sightseeing and enjoyed the Christmas markets, which were packed, and visiting the palace. There was a real buzz about the place. When we got there on Friday we went on a dinner cruise which was a good start for the weekend.

“Even though the four lads don’t ride, the individual and team finals were so dramatic that they really enjoyed the jumping. We all chipped in some money and picked out riders and teams to support to make it more interesting for them. Peter was delighted as he went for Edwina Tops Alexander and then Adam had Madrid In Motion so they were happy with the results.”

The group had a much-travelled Irish flag with them. “We try to go to one new horse event each year and the flag has marked on it the names of each of these,” explained Laura. “So far, it has gone on trips to Olympia, Hickstead, Liverpool horse show, Central Park horse show and now Prague – as well as the RDS of course. Hopefully, there will be more adventures to come.”