The national eventing season opens on Sunday with the second running of Rosanna outside Ashford in Co Wicklow which has attracted 208 entries.
A top-class field of 26 is set to contest the featured Connolly's Red Mills Super League two-star competition. These include three of the 14 combinations currently listed on the Olympics squad - Clare Abbott and Euro Prince, Cathal Daniels on Rioghan Rua and Michael Ryan with Dunlough Striker.
Co Wexford's Michelle Kenny will be first into the dressage arena at 8.30am with Eurelia A. Sarah Ennis, a surprising omission from the Rio squad with Stellor Rebound, competes at 9.46am with the mare BLM Diamond Deluxe on which she recently placed sixth in the Connolly's Red Mills spring show jumping tour at Wexford Equestrian.
Having missed the second half of last season through injury, Armagh’s Jayne Doherty is making up for lost time by entering her three top horses - The Only One, The Precious One and Ravenstar.
Among the many newcomers to the discipline in the lower graded classes is Westwinds Maximus which will be partnered by Heidi Hamilton in the 22-runner Gain Horse Feeds EI90 section. Bred in Co Wexford by owners Alice and Barry Keogh, the five-year-old Clover Brigade gelding is the first foal of the Grade A mare Westwinds Cirracruise (by Cruising).
Locally-based Daisy Duggan has made four entries for Sunday, three of them in the EI90 class. The trio includes DSH Luckey Town, a five-year-old Douglas Cavalier half-brother to the USA-based eventer Van Gough, and Corranvale Autocruise, a four-year-old from the first full crop of the international show jumping stallion Ringfort Cruise.
The eventing season continues until mid-October with one or two national one-day events each weekend apart from those dedicated to internationals.
