EQUESTRIAN:World and European champion Zara Phillips has confirmed she will be part of a large British contingent travelling to Ireland for next month's Tattersalls international horse trials.

Phillips, who won individual gold and team silver at the World Equestrian Games last August, told The Irish Times she hopes to ride the New Zealand-bred Glenbuck at the Ratoath, Co Meath, fixture, which runs from May 31st to June 3rd. The 12-year-old gelding is owned by the Isle of Man-based millionaire Trevor Hemmings.

Glenbuck was formerly ridden by Phillips's friend Sherelle Duke, who was killed in a cross-country fall while competing on another horse in England last August. Phillips, who was crowned world champion in Germany only a week after the Co Armagh rider's death, dedicated the Aachen gold medal to her friend.

Phillips, who makes her Badminton debut next week with her double-gold-medal horse the Irish export Toytown, will ride Glenbuck in Tattersalls' feature two-star class, which boasts a €30,000 prize fund. The Irish Horse Board competition has attracted a high-class international field, including many of Ireland's top riders as well as stars such as multiple medal winner William Fox-Pitt from Britain and New Zealand's Andrew Nicholson.

The Dunboyne Castle one-star has a €20,000 prize fund and there is €5,000 on offer in the Treasury Holdings-sponsored junior class.