DUBLIN Horse Show’s traditional Hunt Chase will be replaced this year by a new format team chase, which will include mounted games.

The final competition in the main arena on Sunday will now be split into two sections with the teams comprising riding and hunt club members.

According to an RDS statement, the new competition will consist of “two pairs of riders from a team will compete in a relay against a second pair of riders from an opposing team over a mounted games course.

“Upon successful completion of this first section, a hunting rider from each team will go head-to-head over a derby-style course. They will be required to negotiate obstacles such as derby fences, gates, hedges and also some knockable fences.”

The RDS statement went on to say that for the first year of this new competition, teams will be invited to participate “but this will be reviewed before next year’s Show.”

The RDS felt by including the mounted games element, it would give recognition to the international success of Irish teams in recent years. This year the Mounted Games Association of Ireland will host the European Mounted Games Championships at Millstreet (July 8th-14th) and the new format “will potentially allow for Irish success at this international championship to be celebrated further at the Dublin Horse Show.”

The news of format changes to the popular inter-hunt chase, the brainchild of the late Thady Ryan, were first announced on Dublin Horse Show’s Facebook page on June 4th.

At that time, the RDS statement said that the original concept of the Hunt Chase was to showcase the most skilful amateur riders and Irish hunters from the hunting field. However, their view was that the competition had become “increasingly dominated by a small number of teams riding ex-thoroughbred racehorses. It no longer reflects the partnership between horse and rider envisaged at its inception.

“Over a number of months, the RDS held discussions with the Hunt Chase Committee Secretary and sought suggestions as to what could be changed to steer the competition back towards Thady Ryan’s original idea. No suggestions were forthcoming, and consequently the RDS Equestrian Committee decided to make changes to the format, including operating a team cross-country competition with a revised format, on an invitation-only basis, which is how this competition ran for many years.”

Social media

The news created a stir on social media among horse show and inter-hunt fans then, with some stating that there had been no communication on this matter with the hunt clubs and that two qualifiers, at the Ploughing Championships and Balmoral had already taken place without any notice of the revised competition.