Sarah Ennis competes in top-grade class for Ireland at Tattersalls international trials

Sarah Ennis will be bidding for a first for Ireland when she competes in the featured CCI3* class, sponsored by The Irish Field, at the Tattersalls international horse trials in Co Meath this week.

British riders have dominated the top-graded class since it was added to the schedule in 2011 with Ennis recording this country’s best result when second the following year with Miriam Cunning’s Sugar Brown Babe.

This week, the 41-year-old, who live between Batterstown and Dunboyne, partners her own Horseware Stellor Rebound, a 2004 VDL Ricochet gelding which, on his second start for almost a year, finished eighth, and best of the Irish, in a CIC3* at Chatsworth last month.

Ennis will have plenty of fans at this week's event as will Co Kildare's Camilla Speirs and the diminutive Porterstown Just A Jiff, a combination which finished ninth this season at four-star level in Badminton.

All those on the Irish Olympic squad are due to compete at Tattersalls, in one or other of the two three-star classes, while there is also a top-class entry from Great Britain. Crowd favourite William Fox-Pitt is among those travelling having recovered from the life-threatening injuries he received in a fall in France last October. Among other well-known British riders are Oliver Townend, Zara Tindall, Ruth Edge and Mary King while Matthew Wright returns for the first time since 2010.

The event gets under way today with the first session of dressage in the two senior one-star classes. There will be further dressage at all levels throughout Thursday with all one-star competitors (including pony riders) taking on the challenge of the Ian Stark-designed cross-country course on Friday. That group will show jump on Saturday, when the majority of others are doing their cross-country phase, with more show jumping and one class of cross-country on Sunday.