AS the countdown to next week’s Millstreet International Horse Trials continues, the Duggan family and the organising committee announced that the feature Millstreet CICO3* FEI Eventing Nations Cup will be presented by Connolly’s Red Mills.

Now in its fourth year, the 2018 Horse Trials in Millstreet take place just days after the traditional Milstreet CSI2* International Horse Show which has been a keystone in the Irish equestrian calendar for nearly 40 years.

Having previously hosted a variety of FEI European underage championships for Young Riders, Juniors and Ponies in the disciplines of Eventing, dressage and jumping, the Green Glens Arena and the adjoining Drishane Castle Demesne will host its first senior level team competition with some of the world’s best known event riders heading to Co. Cork.

Ahead of next month’s World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina, a number of riders are using Millstreet in their final preparations including Australia’s Sam Griffiths and Andrew Hoy, Britain’s Rosalind Canter and Irish squad members Sam Watson, Cathal Daniels, Sarah Ennis and Aoife Clark.

Sales and Marketing Director Connolly’s Red Mills, Gareth Connolly, said: “We enjoy a great partnership with the team at Millstreet and are looking forward to our sponsored show-jumping class this afternoon and presenting next week’s Millstreet CICO3* FEI Eventing Nations Cup. At Connolly’s Red Mills, we are passionate about producing quality feed products designed to support the high-performance horse and to be able to support our customers through these events means a lot to us. We wish all competitors the very best of luck and we look forward to meeting many of them and their teams next week.”

Millstreet’s Thomas Duggan said: “We are delighted that Connolly’s Red Mills are continuing to support all of our equestrian events in the Green Glens Arena, including this prestigious leg of the FEI Eventing Nations Cup.”

ALL TO PLAY FOR

The FEI Eventing Nations Cup series got underway in Italy in April and has since taken in venues in Britain, Poland, the USA and France. Millstreet forms the penultimate stage before the final in Boekelo this October and after five legs, a strong team from France will travel to Ireland hoping to further extend their lead at the top of the overall standings.

(See Sally Parkyn’s Millstreet International Eventing preview on A78).