THE LEINSTER Rugby boys do more than dig up the turf and win European cups on their home ground at the RDS in Dublin’s well-manicured Ballsbridge, it emerged as the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show opened yesterday.
Their scrums and tries ensure the Royal Dublin Society can boast it has the best-grassed show jumping arena in the world, according to Michael Duffy, chief executive of the Royal Dublin Society.
Michael explained that the 10-year agreement with the oval-ball men means the RDS show ring is in use virtually all year round and is managed to the highest level, not only for horses but rugby players as well.
“We spent €1 million on it and because it is in use not just for show jumping one week a year, it has to be kept in top condition. As a result we can claim – and no one has contradicted this – we have the best arena in the world,” he said.
He said that because the arena has to accommodate two-tonne horses and big men landing hard on the jumping surface, it is always in good condition and has earned its international reputation. “We have a 10-year agreement with the Leinster people and that runs for another six years. Contrary to what a lot of people think, Leinster Rugby is
not going back to the Aviva Stadium for a few more years yet,” he said.
One man who had not expected to hit the RDS dirt hard yesterday was the professional rider who had been invited by the world-renowned horse whisperer Monty Roberts to mount a horse he had just broken over the previous hour.
Roberts, who is one of the chief attractions of this year’s event, had spent the previous hour in front of an enthralled crowd gentling the creature, which had never had a saddle on its back before. The horse was literally eating out of his hand at the end of the session but Monty’s fall came when he asked one of his riders to climb on board the
newly broken animal – which promptly threw him off in fine style. "It would take an Irish horse. Only 1½ per cent of horses I handle do that," said the bemused former stuntman, award-winning trainer and child riding prodigy, who also wrote a best-seller called The Man Who Listens to Horses.
Clearly Monty, who wore a plastic cover like a tea cosy over his Stetson hat to protect it from the rain, had met a horse who was not listening to him, something he said had not happened in five years and 2,000 horses.
Anyhow, he will be at it again here today, using his whispering techniques to conquer the badness in Irish horses that dump riders like worn-out rugby players on the Ballsbridge turf.
Monty was not the only man who had a difficult day yesterday. Pity the poor Lord Mayor of Dublin, Gerry Breen, who missed the chance of riding in style in the Lord Mayor’s carriage to open the event. The mayor, according to his deputy Edie Wynne, who stood in for him, is on holiday and will now have to wait until St Patrick’s Day before he gets his day out in the coach.
Not that it impressed Mrs Wynne’s grandson, Brian. He told his granny on the journey out from the Mansion House that the carriage, pulled by four black horses, was a bit of a death trap because there were no safety belts fitted.
There will be a continuing link with Leinster Rugby later today when Ladies’ Day gets under way and Ireland’s finest will be strutting their stuff on the RDS lawns for a prize fund of €17,000.
One of the judges for the Blossom Hill-sponsored event will be none other than Amy Huberman, whose husband is Brian O’Driscoll, a man who has tested the ground more than once here in the RDS.
But all journalistic eyes will be peering outside on Merrion Road where, we have been told, an alternative Ladies’ Day event featuring mud wrestling may take place – sponsored by a bookmakers chain and a company that makes face packs for ladies.
Only time will tell.