Tell us about your own involvement in horses?

I try to breed a couple of eventers every year, I have two daughters who are active members of the Meath Pony Club and I hunt with the Ballymacads. In breeding, I aim to use the best jumping genes that also work for eventing on thoroughbred mares, sires such as Contendro I, Kannan or the Irish sire Chillout, who has a high percentage of blood in his pedigree.

What’s the biggest challenge in running a five-star show?

The biggest challenge is the number of hours you must put in to keep the show fresh and new. We have already started planning for the 2017 show. We look at the entries, watch what trends are becoming evident and how it will affect the next year’s show.

The preparation for any show begins in earnest in September the year before, when management and the Equestrian committee complete a full review of the previous show. We are very mindful that Dublin is a showcase for the Irish horse.

What’s your favourite part of the show?

I love the performance working hunter Connemara classes, the young event horse classes, the four-year-old show jumpers (it’s exciting to see the next generation) and, of course, the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup and the Longines Grand Prix are always highlights.

I don’t get to see all of those classes every year but I do try to see the start of almost every class at the show, to see that it starts on time, how it looks, what spectator interest there is in it and what the standard of entries are like.

What other shows worldwide have you seen and learned from?

Every time I go abroad I pick up something new, whether it’s the attention to detail at Badminton and Burghley or the organisation and processes at the big show jumping venues.

But no other show has the same breadth as Dublin – combining national show jumping, international show jumping, showing classes and breed classes in the same show in a city-centre location.

We have more than 1,500 horses catalogued and, when the international jumpers are included, we probably have 1,700 on site. The World Equestrian Games would have less than 1,000 horses to contend with and far fewer competitions.

How much horse trading happens at the RDS?

It’s very hard to put a figure on that, given the inclination of horse owners to do their business quietly and mind customers for future business. There are a lot of horses that are seen at Dublin and the deal not done until a few weeks or a month or two later, but there are some high-value horses sold here every year.

Top show jumpers in the seven and eight-year-old international class have made in the order of €1 million at Dublin and the top jumpers in the younger age classes could make €250,000. Then you have the eventers and the hunters selling, sometimes it’s the Irish Draughts that a good customer takes an interest in. It varies from year to year what sells but usually what is sold represents quality in that particular section of the show.

What’s been the biggest change made at the show?

Every year we work with the Equestrian committee to make the show better than the last. I think the most important decision we made in recent years was to focus on performance classes such as the Connemara and Irish Draught performance classes, the young event horse classes and the Seven/Eight-year-old International Show Jumping class.

That has driven changes in the industry in how those animals are produced and has given an outlet to showcase them.

We also introduced masterclass demonstrations in 2007. We try to bring in people who have a significant reputation in the equestrian industry worldwide, such as Buck Brannaman in 2014, Christoph Hess and Eddie Macken last year.

This year we have demonstrations from Pat Parelli and Denny Emerson, who will also be judging the young event horse class. It is important that people who come to the show can see different demonstrations, engage with different ideas and try new things afterwards.

What are the future plans for the show?

With the installation of a new sand surface in the Granville Nugent arena in Simmonscourt this year we hope to continue to improve the equestrian facilities at the show.

The competitions run at Dublin will have to track developments internationally, while retaining the best of what is Irish. We understand that Dublin is an international showcase for the Irish sport horse industry and how important this industry is to rural Ireland.

We have a young and very motivated equestrian team, led by Fiona Sheridan, who will lead change over the coming years and work to keep the traditions of the show relevant to a developing Irish horse industry.

The mission of the show is what is most important, it is underwritten by the RDS and we are proud of the contribution the show makes. Any future plans will look to ensure this contribution is just as telling in the years to come.

What changes would you like to see in the Irish sport horse industry?

The RDS was one of the authors of the “Reaching New Heights” strategy, which outlined the main objectives for the industry.

The number one priority has to be breeding for purpose with clear goals, based on an understanding of genetics and the athletic traits required in the offspring. Specific breeding programmes for eventers, show jumpers and traditional horses could feed into the breeding and performance classes at the Dublin Horse Show.

The second area is the development of a unified structure for the education and training of our young riders. While we produce many great show jumping riders, training is provided through a wide variety of organisations with very little resources to develop coaching programmes and ensure a high level of teaching.

A centralised system which is properly resourced could support the existing equestrian organisations.