Late August Dates Announced for 2021 Dublin Horse Show

The 147th Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Dublin Horse Show has been scheduled for August 18-22 2021. The move away from the traditional early August dates is to facilitate the horse and riders that will be competing in the Olympic Games which has been moved to next year due to Covid-19. This year’s Dublin Horse Show was cancelled last month on foot of public health and safety concerns associated with the pandemic.

The RDS will continue to monitor further developments with regard to Covid-19 and adhere to Government guidelines regarding public safety.

Early knowledge of the Show dates can help many breeders and producers plan for 2021. The Show is the pinnacle event of the Irish sport horse industry, which is estimated to have an economic value of over €800m. This is mostly of benefit to rural Ireland where it is an important indigenous export industry.

Speaking about new dates and the 2021 Show, Chief Executive of the RDS, Michael Duffy said: “It was very disappointing to have to cancel this year’s Show, but it was the most responsible decision that we could take in the circumstances. The 147th Show will instead take place next year and we are looking forward to the 100,000 visitors that the Show attracts over the five days. The Show is considered one of the best in the world and is also vital to the Irish sport horse industry and the community. However, the health and safety of our visitors, and of the general public, will continue to be of paramount concern for the RDS. Because of this we will continue to monitor Covid-19 developments for the forseeable future.”

- ENDS-

Further Information:

The full title for all five days of the Show is the ‘Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Dublin Horse Show’.

The Show is widely considered to be one of the best equestrian shows in the world and is operated by the RDS on a not-for-profit basis in order to make it the best possible Show to support the Irish sport horse industry. The RDS manages, resources and underwrites the CSIO 5* Show each year, which had a total cost of €5.4 million in 2019. Equestrianism is vital way in which the RDS fulfils its mission of contributing to a culturally and economically vibrant Ireland.

In 2019 the Show had a total prize fund of €1.2 million and celebrated the centenary of women competing in show jumping at the Dublin Horse Show.

Contact for any additional queries please contact Diarmuid Hanifin, RDS Communications Manager diarmuid@rds.ie