Competition schedule and top sponsors announced for Irish Breeders Classic 2020.

Now in its ninth year, the Irish Breeders Classic is a firm favourite in the Irish showjumping calendar, hosting the world’s richest young horse class with a total prize fund in excess of €70,000.

The prestigious event will take place in Barnadown Showjumping near Gorey, Co, Wexford on Wednesday, August 26 to Sunday, August 30, 2020.

The full competition schedule includes a 1.40 m National Grand Prix on Saturday and a 1.50 m Grand Prix on Sunday. The finals for the five and six-year-olds and the seven and eight-year-olds will take place on Sunday. The four-year-old final will take place on Friday. The Three-year-old Loose Jumping and IBC Select Foal Sale will take place on Saturday. We are delighted to have FEI Level 4 international course designer Alan Wade design for the show. Full details are available on www.irishbreedersclassic.com.

The 2020 event was launched earlier this week in Barnadown. Title sponsors GAIN Equine Nutrition and Alltech and sponsor Horse Sport Ireland, were joined by  Irish Breeders Classic 2019 winner Ger O’Neill.

The Irish Breeders Classic was set up in 2012 and was the brainchild of Ronan Rothwell. His dream was to showcase Irish-bred horses and, in that way, attract new investors to the sport. Due to business commitments, Ronan has stepped aside this year, and there is now a new committee in place.  

Each year, we see the Irish Breeders Classic grow, and 2020 will be no exception. It is a wonderful endorsement of the event that sponsors of the calibre of GAIN Equine Nutrition, Alltech, Horse Sport Ireland and many more national and international sponsors put their trust in us. With record competition entries in previous years, we look forward to an even bigger attendance in 2020, especially with the inclusion of our 1.50 m Grand Prix.

Over the past nine years, the competition has gained international recognition, with the past graduates going on to perform at the highest level of the sport, including MHS Going Global, Limestone Grey, Arraghbeg Clover (Silver Medallist WBSC), Killossery Kaiden (Gold Medallist WBSC), Columbcille Gipsy (Gold Medallist WBSC), BBS McGregor and Dawsons Gold, to name but a few.

“GAIN Equine Nutrition is delighted to be supporting the Irish Breeders Classic in conjunction with Alltech this year,” Joanne Hurley, Irish Country Manager, GAIN Equine Nutrition said. “This has been a hugely successful event over the past number of years, and we are really looking forward to this year’s renewal, showcasing the very best of Irish-bred young horses. The Irish market is very important, and we feel that this collaboration reinforces our commitment to the showjumping sector. On behalf of GAIN Equine Nutrition, I would like to wish the best of luck to all the competitors.”

“Alltech is delighted to be partnering GAIN Equine Nutrition to support the Irish Breeders Classic for the third year running,” Neil Keane, Alltech commercial director added. “Alltech’s range of nutritional ingredients have been included in GAIN Equine Nutrition feeds for over 30 years. This sponsorship showcases our partnership and continues our support of making the Irish equine industry a success. The Irish Breeders Classic is a fantastic event in the sport horse sector. We are really looking forward to this year.”

“Horse Sport Ireland is delighted to once again support the Irish Breeders Classic in 2020,” Horse Sport Ireland CEO Ronan Murphy said. “The Irish Breeders Classic presents an excellent platform to promote Ireland’s leading young showjumping horses and has grown in popularity and importance each year since it was first launched in 2012. We wish all the competitors, owners and breeders the best of luck and we look forward to an exciting weekend of competition.”

“The Irish Breeders Classic has become a centrepiece in the Irish showjumping calendar,” last year’s Irish Breeders Classic winner Ger O’Neill commented. “This is a very important showcase for young, Irish-bred horses, where many of the winners have gone on to represent Ireland at the World Breeding Championship at Lanaken each year. I am lucky enough to have won the Irish Breeders Classic twice. The first time was in 2017 with Columbcille Gipsy, who also went on to win the gold medal at the World Breeders Showjumping Championships that year. Dawsons Gold, with whom I won the 2019 WBSC Gold Medal, was sold to Rich Fellers and he has dominated this year’s six-year-old division of the Desert Circuit in the USA.”