THIS time next week, I will be writing this editorial from Versailles in the city of Paris, hopefully reporting that all four eventing horses have passed the trot up and are ready to fight for Ireland’s first ever eventing medal at an Olympic Games.

You will find the eventing preview on pages 70-71 this week. In making my podium predictions, I put Ireland up for a team bronze medal. It feels like they have a chance and the leading contender of that pack is Austin O’Connor. If he and Colorado Blue can reproduce something similar to their dressage score from Bramham (26.4), they will put pressure on the leaders come the jumping phases. The individual gold in Tokyo was won on a score of 26.0 and that was the second best finishing score ever at an Olympics.

The eventers will be arriving in Haras de Jardy on Monday, spending two days there before going into the Olympic venue. Sarah Ennis – the sole member of the team based in Ireland – left on Thursday, while Susie Berry reports she is travelling to Paris with teammate Austin.

On those pages you will also find out how to watch the Games – our own Brendan McArdle will be commentating on RTÉ, but if you don’t want to miss a single minute of action, you will have to purchase a Discovery+ subscription. There is a handy timetable on page 69, which I encourage you to take a picture of or cut out and put in your wallet.

Next week’s paper will feature the show jumping and dressage previews. Don’t forget to log on to our website, www.theirishfield.ie, over the next few weeks for the latest up to date news from Paris as it happens.

This week’s Olympic countdown podcast features dressage rider Abigail Lyle. You can scan the QR code below to listen or find it wherever you get your podcasts.

Energy solutions

Horse owners always have bills to be paid and electricity is a significant cost for us all. With that in mind, you might be interested in finding out more about the possibility of installing solar panels on your stables.

The Irish Field has partnered with IFA Bord Gáis to host an information evening on the topic on August 26th in The Heritage, Killenard, Co Laois, with expert speakers on the topic from across the sector. The event is free but you must pre-register. See page 4 for more details.