I don’t know about you but the Balmoral Show excitement reaches its crescendo just as I get the pick-up parked and that familiar show smell of freshly mown grass, animals and coffee, wafts its way towards me.
The 2025 Balmoral Show, Northern Ireland’s best-loved agricultural and equestrian event, is set to showcase a stellar line-up of horse and rider combinations who have all earned their place through a rigorous series of qualifiers held across Ireland.
Both the national and international show jumping championships at Balmoral are highly anticipated, featuring classes for five-year-olds, six and seven-year-olds, 1.35m jumpers, and amateurs. Qualifiers were held in the run-up at venues including Portmore Equestrian Centre, Killossery Lodge Stud, Cavan Equestrian Centre, Kernan Equestrian, and Meadow’s Equestrian Centre. Each venue offered limited qualifying spots, ensuring that only the top horse and rider combinations advanced to Balmoral.
Irish Olympian and previous Balmoral champion, Greg Broderick of Ballypatrick Stables in Co Tipperary told Irish Country Living this week why he and his team return to the famous showground each May.
“Balmoral is a show we really look forward to. The arena, the size and scale of it, and the ground, are all second to none. It’s as good as you’re going to get anywhere in Europe.
“The atmosphere that goes with the show is fantastic for the horses; it really brings them along. There are huge crowds, and it really offers a very big atmosphere. We’re very lucky to have a show like Balmoral in Ireland, both to showcase our horses and it’s also a great show for our riders, because of the brilliant atmosphere. It’s one of the nicest shows we could aim for all year.”
Amanda Benson and Madra Rua won Balmoral's Hunter Championship. \ Anne Hughes
A definite highlight of the Balmoral Show is taking place on Friday, 16 May at 8am. The ‘Star of the Future’ Performance Horse Championship identifies and celebrates promising young horses. Last year’s winners Alyssa O’Neill and Dermish Coney are the ones to beat this year.
At the Wexford Equestrian qualifier, Fraser Duffy rode the Irish Sport Horse gelding by Ganesh Hero Z, Annaghmore Ganecho, to victory in the five-year-old class and will definitely be one to watch. In the six and seven-year-old category, Patrick Byrne secured the top spot with the very impressive Irish Sport Horse mare Stonewall Trixie.
The incredibly highly competitive Amateur Championship is another fun competition to watch. Fresh from winning the recent Ingrid Kane show jumping Grand Prix at Barnadown on 20 April, Egle Zakaraite and her talented Metropole mare Talbot Siss are gearing up for another shot at the title at Balmoral on Saturday morning. The pair came fifth in the Amateur Championship last year. Egle says, “We qualified for Balmoral at Killossery, the same as last year. The Balmoral grass arena is our favourite to compete on, it’s prepared so well by the team at Balmoral Park. I’m looking forward to seeing our names up on the big screen again and to have fun in the main ring. I’m also looking forward to enjoying the rest of the show with my mum afterwards.”
One of last year’s stand-out moments was 27-year-old Connemara gelding, Blackwood Fernando, once again winning the North Down Marquees Connemara Working Hunter Championship under Alicia Devlin Byrne. Since the successful move back to Balmoral Park for the show, there has been a significant increase in entry numbers to this popular class and seeing a pony of such age and success clinching the title was a goose-bump moment for the whole crowd.
Rachael Dickson’s Ardncashel Monarch cut a stunning shape in the ring last year, picking up the Windmill Stud Perpetual Challenge Trophy for the Champion Performance Irish Draught. The Connemara Ridden and Working Hunter classes also held highly competitive qualifiers.
18-year-old Our Father, owned by Karen Ferris and ridden by Sean Paul Gilbride, won the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association Racehorse to Riding Horse class at Balmoral Show. \ Prime Photography
Alicia Devlin Byrne and Blackwood Fernando won Balmoral’s Connemara Working Hunter Championship once again. \ Prime Photography
Battling it out in the Bluegrass Horse Feed Schools Show Jumping Open Team Championship will be the top school teams from the Ulster region and the Equestrian Inter-schools Ireland League. Victory went to Down High School last year and there will be five schools teams from Ulster Region (includes Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal) and five schools teams from the rest of the Republic of Ireland eligible to compete this year. The final competition is scheduled for 10.45am on Saturday, 17 May in the main arena.
Extended trot
Not to be forgotten, the Balmoral donkey classes can truly warm the heart, so keep an eye out for those; handlers from their teens to their seventies impress the judges with various degrees of donkey obedience. I’d never seen a donkey do an extended trot before, but I did at last year’s Balmoral, it’s always game on.
Last year, handler supreme Jill Castles placed first and second with two magnificent donkeys, Dave The Rave and Percy who had us all on the edge of our ice-creams as Percy narrowly stole the title of Best Turn Out and Condition.
Celebrating the second careers of some of our fantastic racehorses, the Racehorse to Riding Horse class is most definitely a must-see. This year’s magnificent thoroughbreds can be seen at 4.45pm in the main arena on Friday.
The best kept secret of the show is run by dedicated Women’s Institute members – the WI tent – serving the best hazelnut cake you’ll ever taste, plus of course, tea – tired and hungry equestrians take note.
I don’t know about you but the Balmoral Show excitement reaches its crescendo just as I get the pick-up parked and that familiar show smell of freshly mown grass, animals and coffee, wafts its way towards me.
The 2025 Balmoral Show, Northern Ireland’s best-loved agricultural and equestrian event, is set to showcase a stellar line-up of horse and rider combinations who have all earned their place through a rigorous series of qualifiers held across Ireland.
Both the national and international show jumping championships at Balmoral are highly anticipated, featuring classes for five-year-olds, six and seven-year-olds, 1.35m jumpers, and amateurs. Qualifiers were held in the run-up at venues including Portmore Equestrian Centre, Killossery Lodge Stud, Cavan Equestrian Centre, Kernan Equestrian, and Meadow’s Equestrian Centre. Each venue offered limited qualifying spots, ensuring that only the top horse and rider combinations advanced to Balmoral.
Irish Olympian and previous Balmoral champion, Greg Broderick of Ballypatrick Stables in Co Tipperary told Irish Country Living this week why he and his team return to the famous showground each May.
“Balmoral is a show we really look forward to. The arena, the size and scale of it, and the ground, are all second to none. It’s as good as you’re going to get anywhere in Europe.
“The atmosphere that goes with the show is fantastic for the horses; it really brings them along. There are huge crowds, and it really offers a very big atmosphere. We’re very lucky to have a show like Balmoral in Ireland, both to showcase our horses and it’s also a great show for our riders, because of the brilliant atmosphere. It’s one of the nicest shows we could aim for all year.”
Amanda Benson and Madra Rua won Balmoral's Hunter Championship. \ Anne Hughes
A definite highlight of the Balmoral Show is taking place on Friday, 16 May at 8am. The ‘Star of the Future’ Performance Horse Championship identifies and celebrates promising young horses. Last year’s winners Alyssa O’Neill and Dermish Coney are the ones to beat this year.
At the Wexford Equestrian qualifier, Fraser Duffy rode the Irish Sport Horse gelding by Ganesh Hero Z, Annaghmore Ganecho, to victory in the five-year-old class and will definitely be one to watch. In the six and seven-year-old category, Patrick Byrne secured the top spot with the very impressive Irish Sport Horse mare Stonewall Trixie.
The incredibly highly competitive Amateur Championship is another fun competition to watch. Fresh from winning the recent Ingrid Kane show jumping Grand Prix at Barnadown on 20 April, Egle Zakaraite and her talented Metropole mare Talbot Siss are gearing up for another shot at the title at Balmoral on Saturday morning. The pair came fifth in the Amateur Championship last year. Egle says, “We qualified for Balmoral at Killossery, the same as last year. The Balmoral grass arena is our favourite to compete on, it’s prepared so well by the team at Balmoral Park. I’m looking forward to seeing our names up on the big screen again and to have fun in the main ring. I’m also looking forward to enjoying the rest of the show with my mum afterwards.”
One of last year’s stand-out moments was 27-year-old Connemara gelding, Blackwood Fernando, once again winning the North Down Marquees Connemara Working Hunter Championship under Alicia Devlin Byrne. Since the successful move back to Balmoral Park for the show, there has been a significant increase in entry numbers to this popular class and seeing a pony of such age and success clinching the title was a goose-bump moment for the whole crowd.
Rachael Dickson’s Ardncashel Monarch cut a stunning shape in the ring last year, picking up the Windmill Stud Perpetual Challenge Trophy for the Champion Performance Irish Draught. The Connemara Ridden and Working Hunter classes also held highly competitive qualifiers.
18-year-old Our Father, owned by Karen Ferris and ridden by Sean Paul Gilbride, won the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association Racehorse to Riding Horse class at Balmoral Show. \ Prime Photography
Alicia Devlin Byrne and Blackwood Fernando won Balmoral’s Connemara Working Hunter Championship once again. \ Prime Photography
Battling it out in the Bluegrass Horse Feed Schools Show Jumping Open Team Championship will be the top school teams from the Ulster region and the Equestrian Inter-schools Ireland League. Victory went to Down High School last year and there will be five schools teams from Ulster Region (includes Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal) and five schools teams from the rest of the Republic of Ireland eligible to compete this year. The final competition is scheduled for 10.45am on Saturday, 17 May in the main arena.
Extended trot
Not to be forgotten, the Balmoral donkey classes can truly warm the heart, so keep an eye out for those; handlers from their teens to their seventies impress the judges with various degrees of donkey obedience. I’d never seen a donkey do an extended trot before, but I did at last year’s Balmoral, it’s always game on.
Last year, handler supreme Jill Castles placed first and second with two magnificent donkeys, Dave The Rave and Percy who had us all on the edge of our ice-creams as Percy narrowly stole the title of Best Turn Out and Condition.
Celebrating the second careers of some of our fantastic racehorses, the Racehorse to Riding Horse class is most definitely a must-see. This year’s magnificent thoroughbreds can be seen at 4.45pm in the main arena on Friday.
The best kept secret of the show is run by dedicated Women’s Institute members – the WI tent – serving the best hazelnut cake you’ll ever taste, plus of course, tea – tired and hungry equestrians take note.
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