Balmoral Show time has a certain feel to it. Call it liberation, new beginning, hope what you will, it is like what one used to sense about the RDS Spring Show or the atmosphere provided by the young Swedish students as they come out in enthusiastic thousands for the April Gothenburg Horse Show. Even in a sometimes turbulent world, Balmoral has always seemed to be an oasis of peaceful endeavour

That feeling was shaken for me only once when I witnessed a bomb going off in the heart of the show back in the 1980s and I shed tears as I tried to dictate a few faltering paragraphs about it for the Irish Times. However, the feeling returned as it does now as we look forward to the 123rd running of the iconic event.

And that is how it should be, for at the inaugural meeting of the North East Agricultural Association which was to run the first show at their new show grounds on 30 acres of Arthur Hamill’s land at Balmoral Park in 1896 it was resolved that “subjects of political or religious controversy shall not be discussed at any of the meetings of this Association.” And thus it has remained even after the name of the show’s organisers was changed to the Royal Ulster Agricultural Association, RUAS.

STRONG SUPPORt

Down the years, ever since that first Balmoral of 1896, there has been strong support of the event from southern counties. There were victories recorded at the show by the likes of Tommy Wade, who won a gold medal there in 1961, Leslie Fitzpatrick, Seamus Hayes, Tommy Brennan, Iris Kellett, Diana Conolly Carew and many more of the rising civilian cohort of the post war era.

In more recent times show jumpers such as Francis Connors, Edward Doyle, Ger O’Neill, Greg Broderick, the Butler brothers and young Irish Army riders have written their names onto RUAS start lists.

Beyond the sport of show jumping, the show rings have also played host to contenders from the south. Waring Willis, Galway Greer, Jessica Willis, Frances Cash, Lu Lu Parkhill, Jane Bradbury, Tiernan Gill and Derry Rothwell have all successfully shown there.

Since the RUAS move to the new Balmoral Park near Lisburn the numbers travelling north have continued to increase. A recent catalogue shows that over 100 competitors from the 26 counties took part in its extensive list of horse and pony classes.

It has to be said that beyond the prizes on offer, it is the meaning of the place and the prestige of winning there that draws them. So once again I look forward to being there again the week aftr next on May 15 to 18.