The Kerrygold Horse Show begins at the RDS this morning with prizes of £288,000 to be shared during the five-day fixture. Most of that prize fund, £172,500, will be on offer in the 10 international show-jumping classes.
Friday's Kerrygold Nations Cup has £40,000 in prize money on offer, with £13,000 of that plus the prestigious Aga Khan Cup going to the winners.
The Irish team, which will be named by chef d'equipe Tommy Wade after tomorrow evening's main class, will be bidding to add yet another Nations Cup win to the six already won this year.
The other feature class, Sunday's curtain-closing Kerrygold Grand Prix, boasts a £66,000 prize pot.
The big money went to John Whitaker 12 months ago with his veteran Virtual Village Welham, but the Yorkshireman missed the cut for the British team this year as his top horse, Calvaro, is already in pre-Olympic quarantine.
Dublin's Lord Mayor, Mr Maurice Ahern, will be on hand for the Horse Show's official opening ceremony at midday today.