EQUESTRIAN SPORT / News: The Irish Horse Board, Fáilte Ireland and CLG Developments have put together a €60,000 prize fund for the Punchestown three-day event, which returns to the international calendar in May.
The European three-day event championships were staged at the Co Kildare venue in September, 2003, and the annual fixture then returned to the racecourse the following May.
Last year's event was cancelled because of lack of funding, but yesterday's announcement of three major sponsors means that the 2006 fixture will definitely go ahead from May 18th-21st.
The feature competitions will be the Irish Horse Board three-star international, the Fáilte Ireland two-star Irish national championships and the CLG Developments young rider two-star class. Competitors in the three and two-star classes will tackle a cross-country course designed by former Irish Olympian Tommy Brennan.
The schedule will also include young event horse classes and the €60,000 prize fund is expected to attract competitors from all over the world.
The Irish horse has consistently topped the World Breeding Federation rankings and, according to Irish Horse Board chairman Joe Walsh TD, "supporting Ireland's premier event at Punchestown is another way in which the Horse Board can be active in promoting the success of the Irish-bred eventer at the very highest levels of competition".
Fáilte Ireland's backing of the two-star Irish national championships has come through its international sports tourism initiative. Speaking at yesterday's launch, Fáilte Ireland's head of product marketing John Rafferty stated that over 51,000 visitors come to Ireland for equestrian pursuits each year and generate in the region of €40 million for the economy.
In a departure from the traditional schedule this year, an evening national hunt meeting will be held on the Saturday night, May 20th. The seven-race card will kick off at 6pm after the completion of the cross-country action.
Grand Prix show jumping, horse and pony show jumping, showing classes and dressage will also be included on the programme, along with the first international inter-schools show jumping classic, an invitational competition for the top schools in Ireland and Britain.
Another major show jumping highlight was launched this week, with the announcement that Boswell Equestrian and WPD Group are to sponsor the national Grand Prix league. Run under the IJM Timberframe banner for the past three years, the national Grand Prix league will be run at shows nationwide from April to September.
