It’s been another tough year for Irish breeders and producers of show horses, with the loss of dozens of shows leaving many out of pocket as the summer comes to a close.

The cancellation of so many agricultural shows upset a lot of plans but, for the serious exhibitors, the nail in the coffin was, without doubt, the ditching of the showing classes at the recent Dublin Horse Show.

So many exhibitors plan their whole year around Dublin, and to lose that important showcase so late was a major disappointment.

Horse shows at the likes of Glandoran and North Tipperary, and a few championships, did enable exhibitors to get in some mileage, and no doubt there will be a large turnout at the upcoming Balmoral Show. However, it’s a far cry from seasons past.

Not only do some of these bigger venues attract potential new owners, they also offer generous prize money, and together they keep many motivated for the entire summer.

In a normal year Co Clare-based Michael Lyons would be on the road every weekend. This year he says he’s hardly left his yard with a horsebox, apart from the odd day away to show horses for his good friend, Daphne Tierney.

Cutting bait

“For the first time in a long time I’ve had no horses of my own to show this year,” he admitted.

Lyons would usually buy his horses as foals or young stores, to be then shown as two or three-year-olds and sold on to be produced under saddle.

Anything he bought in 2019 for the 2020 season that didn’t happen simply had to be sold. The same applied this year.

“With shows cancelled I needed to get horses away and thankfully trade has been good, especially from British buyers.

“One nice horse I bought as a two-year-old in 2020 was sold to Jill Day last May. By then I knew there would be little or no shows for him. He’s a half-brother to the event horse Newmarket Caro, ridden by Oliver Townend.”

Winning outings

Another horse in Lyons’ care was Newmarket Knight. Winner of the lucrative Bannow & Rathangan title as a three-year-old, he has now been sold to Wicklow rider Jennifer Kennedy to be aimed at the ridden hunters in 2022.

Lyons admits that the generosity of sponsors at some of the established agricultural shows has seen prize money rocket in recent years, making for some valuable outings. In 2019 alone he won €6,500 on the circuit with two young horses.

However, Lyons does worry about the future of shows as we know them.

“Some of the shows I attended this year were held at centres and were so well run on good all-weather surfaces. Horse owners expect better conditions now; no one wants to show their good horse in an uneven grass arena.”

While some of the smaller agricultural shows may struggle to get back on track next year, especially if sponsors themselves have run out of funds, it is hoped that the €600,000 allocated to the Irish Shows Association by the Government in 2020 will be still available for distribution in 2022.