WITH the European Championships looming, Anne Marie Dunphy takes up the reins as Horse Sport Ireland’s High Performance Director of Dressage.

The appointment of the popular coach, judge and talented rider comes at a time when interest in the discipline is at an all-time high among riders of all levels nationwide.

There’s been many shoulders put to the wheel in the past and present to achieve same, hats off to all involved, particularly to Dressage Ireland, under the current chairmanship of Marguerite Kavanagh.

As top international coach Johann Hinnemann pointed out this week, Irish dressage is really going places with more riders competing at Grand Prix level than ever before - there’s approximately a dozen or so now capable of delivering the qualifying scores for the Europeans in September.

As we approach the end of May, there’s little time to be lost on that front and we wish Anne Marie every success in her new role. She brings a wealth of experience to the job at hand.

Whether you embrace the discipline of dressage or not, the importance of correct flat work is the essential building block underlying all educated riding.

Keep learning from the best, take all opportunities you can get to do so - your horses will thank you!

Brilliant Balmoral

As the dust settles on Balmoral showgrounds after the 2023 renewal, we bring you indepth coverage across the showing and show jumping rings with six pages of top show coverage from Margie McLoone and Emer Bermingham (see pages 90-95).