Thursday may be Ladies’ Day at Dublin Horse Show, and Friday is definitely international show jumping day, but today has to be Children’s day as housands of families made their way to the event in Ballsbridge this afternoon.
There were families from around the country and Dublin where working parents could not make the trip during the week.
Unkind weather this morning with massive downpours of thunderstorms made way in the afternoon to blazing sunshine which saw spontaneous family picnics on the Bandlawn where jugglers and musicians performed for the near capacity crowd.
The showring rails were also crowded where the main attraction was the Pony Club game heats which involve various pony clubs from across the country competing against each other in a series of games, including picking up and carrying objects from one end of the course to the other.
There was big interest too in the “Racehorse to Riding Horse” exhibition where the public were shown the end of a racehorse should not come at the end of a racing career and with special training they can go on to become smart showjumpers.
In the main arena the Dublin Stakes International was the main competition where many of the competitors who took part in yesterday’s Nations’ Cup were jumping for prizes worth €23,000.
The final event of today is the Land Rover Puissance international competition to see which horse at the show can jump the highest wall.
The RDS has expressed delight at turnout during the week and said it expects numbers will be up on last year despite the recession.
Its forward booking for the event are 6 per cent up on last year and this increase is expected to be reflected in an attendance which could exceed 100,000 over the week.