Competing at the Show is easy; our Competition Schedule contains the details of the classes and competitions on offer at the Show.
The 2024 Competition Schedule will be available in early June 2024 and will be largely based on the 2023 Schedule. Please click here to download a copy of the 2023 Competition Schedule.
If you have not competed at the 2023 Dublin Horse Show and you wish to receive a copy of the Competition Schedule by post simply email equestrian@rds.ie with your postal details.
There are over 160 classes and competitions at the Show and they can be generally categorised into the following types of equestrian competitions: showing classes, performance classes and show jumping classes.
Showing Classes
The showing classes are segmented into type of horse or pony, by weight category or age category, ridden or led, sex, age etc. You do not have to qualify at any other Show to enter the Dublin Horse Show (except if you are entering the Ladies' Side-Saddle, Performance Irish Draught, Breeders' Championship, Three Year Old Potential Event Horse, Three Year Old Loose Performance, Young Event Horse, Junior / Young Rider Event Horse, Intermediate Side-Saddle, Connemara Performance Hunter, Combined Training or Junior Equitation classes).
National Jumping Classes
These competitions are only open to horses and ponies which have qualified at shows run by Show Jumping Ireland (SJI). For more information see www.sji.ie
Irish-bred classes
The 2005 Show demonstrated a significant increase in the number of horses bred outside of Ireland competing at Dublin. The rationale behind the Show and its classes is to promote Irish breeding and the Irish horse and it is for this reason, in support of the Irish-bred horse, that we have introduced a restriction to a number of classes.
These classes are restricted to horses foaled in Ireland with appropriate documents to support that fact. Microchipped horses that are entered in a class with the Irish-bred restrictions, must be micro-chipped to reflect this rule. The Irish-bred classes provide the ideal opportunity to showcase the best of Irish horses. Otherwise the Dublin Horse Show remains a truly open international show.
Class with Irish-bred restriction:
- Show Hunters (Classes 1-10)
- The Working Hunter Horses (Classes 13-17)
- Three Year Old Potential Event Horse (Class 61)
- Three Year Old Loose Performance (Class 62)
- Four & Five Year Old Young Event Horse (Classes 63 & 64)
- Junior / Young Rider Event Horse (Class 65)
- The 4 Year Old Show Jumping (Class 104), 5 Year Old Show Jumping (Class 105) and 6 Year Old Show Jumping (Class 106) classes are restricted to animals registered as being bred on the Island of Ireland and those entire animals (stallions and mares) bred outside Ireland that are registered and approved/preliminary approved, or select for breeding in an Irish Studbook (Approved by the Dept of Agriculture) prior to the qualifying competition.
- The Racehorse to Riding Horse class is restricted to horses that have either been bred in Ireland or trained (for racing) in Ireland for a minimum of one year.
