THE power of making a dream come true was witnessed at Co Meath’s Clonmahon House which staged their first one-day event last weekend and to say it was warmly received by many in the eventing community is an understatement.

Event rider and coach, Michael McNally Jnr, and his family left no stone unturned to stage what was described as a spectacular debut event and one unafraid to pose challenges and questions alike.

An enormous amount of planning and thought went into the day, no expense was spared, but that aside, paramount throughout was the commitment to building and presenting cross-country and show jumping courses that were up to height and width. It made for great competition right to the end.

The top notch presentation throughout, as well as the bespoke fences, provoked much commentary on social media with many event riders feeling that it was just what the sport needs.

AIRC Festival

Thousands of riders flocked to the annual AIRC Festival at Mullingar Equestrian last weekend where entries were up a sizeable 20% across the 70 classes in dressage, show jumping, showing and working hunters.

Over 600 riders from some 90 riding club clubs, north and south, took part in the 31st renewal and it was wonderful to see growing participation at the grassroots level (see coverage on pages 93-97).

It’s a testament to the hard work of the Association of Irish Riding Clubs, under its ever affable chairman Tony Ennis and its Director General David Abbott - who celebrates 20 years with the organisation this year - and their very dedicated committee.

Nations Cup joy

Many congratulations to chef d’équipe Taylor Vard and his team of Jason Foley, Comdt. Geoff Curran, Harry Allen and Thomas Ryan who won the EEF Nations Cup of Bratislava in fine style. Their victory follows Nations Cup triumphs at Rome and Langley, Canada, for Ireland under chef d’équipe Michael Blake.