Blog

Competitors and visitors alike enjoyed the most amazing few days of weather at Eland Lodge’s Dubarry Horse Trials with rounds from big names including badminton winner Ros canter.

The going was perfect, with multiple bursts of thunder storms and heavy rain leading up to the event, the ground had plenty to drink and enough time in between to rest. This of course meant that the Dubarry water complex was full and ready for action!

With Eland Lodge’s first BE sadly being abandoned due to the weather, the team and competitors alike were thoroughly looking forward to the June event. They welcomed back Dubarry of Ireland as headline sponsors, including sponsorship of the iconic Dubarry Water Complex including the Galway boots cross-country jump. One rider said “Loved it! Thank you to all the volunteers and organisers. It's always such a friendly and welcoming place to come to.” Another rider said “I loved the Dubarry boot jump! They looked great out on the course and jumped nicely.”

Saturday morning was day 1 of the event, filled with excitement as grooms were getting horses ready, trade stands were setting up and final checks from staff were being done out on the course. Eland lodge welcomed multiple trade stands over the weekend, from Dalton’s Dairy Ice cream to Meadow Productions, Newman’s Catering and Bill Parrott Photography. There was also the addition of the Eland Lodge Sale Tent, containing discounted items from the Equestrian and Country store.

The competition opened with the BE90 class, with the first horse making their way into the dressage arena at 8am. There were lots of accurate tests, with some finishing with a scores between 25-30. The show jumping and cross country was very impressive with several double clears inside the time. This was followed by the open and under 18’s section, and that continurd later in the day with the 80’s and 100. A majority of riders within the class went clear show jumping and clear in-side the time whilst out on the cross-country course, which is an fantastic achievement. 

Onto day 2 and we had an exciting start with the Novice, and another popular class the Novice under 18. It was a pleasure to watch young riders taking on a technical track, while making the course look effortless. Spectators were also very excited to see professional event riders Izzy Taylor and Badminton winner Ros Canter take to the course with their youngsters. The day then followed on with the 100 classes and round up with the 90.

Thanks to all the hard work from the venue’s team, volunteers kindly offering their time and competitors supporting this fixture, and Dubarry for sponsoring the event, Eland Lodge concluded their 2023 BE event of the season on a high with a very successful weekend and look forward to welcoming everyone back to future events.