IRISH internationals Joseph Murphy and Fred Scala are among 50 riders who have entered ‘The NAF Virtual 5* Eventing Competition’ which will be live streamed from Wednesday, May 6th through to the following Sunday.

The brainchild of Uptown Eventing’s Rachel Wakefield, the event will see riders raise funds for their own country’s frontline health workers in the worldwide battle against Covid-19 while also providing a distraction from restrictions for themselves and fans of the sport around the globe.

“This has been a great way to pass the time while also doing our bit to raise much-needed funds,” said Murphy who will be riding the Way Forward Syndicate’s 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Cesar V. “The dressage tests have been already been ridden and videoed at home but will be judged live on the day by three top FEI judges (Jane Tolley, Les Smith and Annabel Scrimgeour) while the jumping phases will see riders compete on foot.

“Each phase, including the trot-up (which will be jointly-sponsored by Monbeg Sport Horses), will have a bit of a twist so will be well worth following on the live-stream over the five days,” continued the Killyleagh-based international.

“It’s great to see the support the event has received from riders all around the world who have nominated frontline workers in their home countries. I have two fundraising pages going, one for The Mater Foundation and the other for NHS Charities Together.”

There is a 30-strong contingent of British riders including Laura Collett, William Fox-Pitt, Gemma Tattersall and Holly Woodhead while representing nations further afield are such as Sam Griffiths (Australia), Carlos Parro (Brazil), Tom Carlile (France), Anna Siemer (Germany), Vittoria Panizzon (Italy), Andrew Heffernan (The Netherlands), Joe Meyer (New Zealand) and Boyd Martin (USA).

Some riders will compete on horses who are well-established at five-star level, including Griffiths’s Irish Sport Horse mare Paulank Brockagh, while others are availing of the opportunity to perform the top-level test on their up-and-coming young horses.

The competition’s website (www.virtualeventing.com) will feature a virtual shopping village which will offer discounts and deals on a range of products from animal healthcare to luxury clothing and accessories. Many ‘stall holders’ have agreed that a percentage of their profits on sales will go to the NHS Charities Together Covid-19 urgent appeal fund. The draw for the competition, which will also be live-streamed on the website and Facebook, takes place at 6pm on Wednesday, April 29th.

Equestrian relief

Separately, British-based Irish show jumpers Shane Breen and Anthony Condon are among equestrian stars taking part in Equestrian Relief to raise money for the NHS.

Organised by Nina Barbour and the team behind Bolesworth and Liverpool International Horse Shows, the fundraising initiative was launched this week and aims to raise £100,000 in 10 day. As of Friday morning, £62,600 had be raised.

There are seven teams from show jumping, dressage, eventing, polo and racing circles. Shane Breen is part of ‘Team Showjumping South’, while Anthony Condon is on ‘Team Showjumping North’. Each day two team members are taking part in a daily challenge from the five challenges, which are named On the Gallops, Plankety Plank, Horse Drawn, Showstopper and Dark Horse.

AP McCoy is also taking part, as it eventing world champion Ros Canter, Zara Tindall and television presenter Alice Plunkett.

Nina Barbour, Bolesworth managing director, said: “Our priority is to unite the horse world to support our health workers and our goal is to raise a sum of money that will make a real difference.”