A total of eight Irish riders will compete at the world famous Badminton Horse Trials in England, which get underway this morning (Friday).
In addition, some 27 of the 85 starters are Irish bred horses, representing countries such as the UK, the USA and New Zealand.
The UK Olympic medallist Zara Phillips, grand-daughter of Queen Elizabeth, will ride the Irish Sport Horse High Kingdom at the Gloucestershire venue.
Badminton is the largest outdoor sporting event in the UK with over 250,000 people expected to attend.
The eight Irish riders competing include Aoife Clark, who finished seventh at the Olympic Games in London, and Joseph Murphy, who came 14th.
Another member of Ireland’s Olympic Team, Michael Ryan, will be the first Irish rider into the ring on Friday, while rising stars Sam Watson and Elizabeth Power have already performed well at Badminton in previous years. The Irish line up is completed by first timers Sarah Ennis, Peter Hannigan and Jim Newsam.
Friday and Saturday will see the dressage phases of the competition with Sunday featuring the hugely popular cross country phase. The event will conclude on Monday with the deciding show jumping element.
