IRISH SHOWJUMPING fans may be able to see Olympic showjumping rider, Denis Lynch compete in the Nations Cup on Friday, the day the Olympic Games begin in China.
Tipperary-born Lynch and the 10-year-old gelding Lantinus will be Ireland's sole showjumping combination at the Beijing games.
While Lantinus is already on his way to the Games, Lynch (31) is on the panel of five riders from which the Irish team will be picked for Friday's competition in Dublin.
He is expected to leave for China immediately after the Nations Cup competition to prepare for the Olympic event.
Eddie Macken, Edward Doyle, Cian O'Connor and Jessica Kurten have been named with Denis Lynch, who is expected to get his place on the team.
Jessica Kurten ruled herself out of Olympic contention in June and received a two-month Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) ban following the detection of a banned substance in one of her horse's systems last year. The ban is currently suspended.
There will be eight international teams at the event this year, including Ireland, competing in the Nations Cup and in other major competitions over the week.
There is a prize fund of over €485,000 for the 12 international jumping competitions spread over the five days of the show.
Ireland last won the Nations Cup in 2004, while Great Britain was victorious in 2005. Germany won the trophy in 2006 and last year.
The Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show, as it is now known, will be officially opened at noon today by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Eibhlin Byrne, who will arrive in the historic Lord Mayor's Coach.
The event, which costs €3.6 million to stage by the Royal Dublin Society and which only breaks even, will this year embrace tourism, commerce, retail, arts, fashion, crafts and design on the 42-acre complex in Dublin 4.
Yesterday, the society was processing the arrival of over 1,400 horses and ponies and more than 300 trade exhibitors who will be setting out their stalls for the rest of the week.
To facilitate the horses, 3,000 bales of hay, 4,000 bales of straw, shavings and peat moss have been laid in for the event, which continues until Sunday evening.
The chief executive of the RDS, Michael Duffy, promised that the show would maintain its high-quality international and national showjumping, combined with a wide breadth of entertainment
This, he said, would range "from the style and glamour of Evian Ladies' Day to the excitement of the Kids' Zone. The show is an experience for the whole family".
He said that in the equestrian area, the show would focus on the breeding for performance of horses and athletic ability in all classes.
He said there would also be recognition of the specialist requirements for breeding a showjumper and the need for further development of showjumping championships for Irish-bred horses.
The show is open to the public from 9am today and online ticket booking can be made on the 2008 Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show website at www.dublinhorseshow.com
Admission prices range from an adult season ticket at €53 to an adult daily ticket at €20.
Season tickets for children under 16 years cost €37, with the daily ticket for the under-16s costing €14.
Senior citizens will pay €14 daily, the same rate as students with ID.
A family ticket that will allow entry for two adults and a maximum of four children under 16 costs € 48, and there is a special Sunday family ticket that will cost €44.
Dublin Horse Show: today's programme
Simmonscourt
8am - 128cm ponies (Competition S1)
9.35am - 138cm ponies (Competition K1)
11.20am - 148cm ponies (Competition L1)
1.20pm - six-year-old horses (Competition E1)
3.25pm - four-year-old horses (Competition G1)
5.30pm - eight-year-old horses (Competition A1)
Main arena
9am - seven-year-old horses (Competition BC1)
10.55 - Fáilte Stakes (International Competition 1)
12.35pm - The Speed Stakes (International Competition 2)
2.20 - The Irish Sports Council Classic (International Competition 3)
Ring one
9am - small hunters
12.25pm - cobs
1.10pm - riding horses
Ring two
8.30am - riding ponies
10.40am - led Connemara ponies
2.20pm - judging of working hunter Connemaras
3.50pm - young event horses
For the duration of the show, throughout each day from 9am:
General exhibition of trade and craft stands in the Main Hall, Simmonscourt & Industries Hall; antiques and fine art in the Serpentine Hall; the RDS national crafts and student art winners exhibition in the Concert Hall.
Playground and kids' zone area at the rear of the Grand Stand; Nature zone under the Anglesea Stand; live entertainment on the RDS Band Lawn.
A public judging competition will take place on each day of the show. The competition will give members of the public an opportunity to demonstrate their judging skills and the chance to win € 1,000 each day.