A host of Olympic and World champions vie for honours at Tattersalls
SOME 380 competitors from 16 countries will participate in this year’s Tattersalls International Horse Trials which kick off at the Co Meath complex tomorrow.
From small beginnings in 2005, the three-day event has now grown to be one of the biggest and most popular in Europe.
Attracting a host of top names again this year, these include Britain’s World No 1 rider Oliver Townend, Tim Price of New Zealand and his wife Jonelle, recent winner of Badminton.
In fact, there are no fewer than 23 Olympians, European and World champions in the line-up who will contest over €50,000 in prize-money over the next few days.
“We are thrilled that we have one of the highest entries ever this year,” commented event co-ordinator Joanne Quirke.
“Our interest from overseas is better than ever and we are delighted to see the likes of William Fox-Pitt, Andrew Hoy and Mary King back with us again.”
Months of preparation by farm manager Eugene O’Neill and his team has seen 250 tonnes of sand and 100 tonnes of top soil used to ensure the grounds are in peak condition.
“The ground has been untouched since last August and even fences for the cross-country were carried out by hand to prevent the ground being damaged by trucks or jeeps,” Ms Quirke continued.
A new initiative this year will see 17 event horses going under the hammer at the venue on Thursday night. “This was held in Goresbridge last year but we’ve decided to move it to Tattersalls this year to accommodate a bigger audience.”
A fund-raiser for the high performance eventing squads takes place on Friday night.
‘A Night with the Stars’ will include contributions from 2017 Gold Cup winning jockey Robbie Power and Rio Olympic show jumper Greg Broderick.
Saturday’s picnic area for cross-country day is expected to be a big draw, as will the shopping village. See tatts.ie