Come Here To Me!

Bright sunshine and serene sky had encouraged the ladies to don the lightest and most attractive frocks. As a leading social event, the day was attended by every favourable circumstance, and was in every way a success.

So noted The Irish Times of August 24, 1911. The “splendid gathering” that is the Dublin Horse Show has remained a staple of Dublin life, though the Royal Irish Lancers and the sort are long gone from the scene. Yesterday, I made my first visit to the show, and what I found was an event even larger than I had expected.

I must say, I never fully understood the social significance of the Horse Show before visiting it myself. My mother, a child of Ballyfermot, recalls attending the Horse Show as a child with her father. Yesterday, it was clear the event draws people from all across the capital and beyond. The crowd is probably best described as international in composition, and pub rumours of waiting lists for hotels in the area suggest the Horse Show is safe for the forseeable future. With over 300 stalls, several packed bars and dozens of catering vans and even restaurants on site, the amount of employment generated by the show is staggering itself. The show runs smoothly, but only as a result of the hard work of countless staff.

How much of the day revolves around horses some ask? On Ladies Day, “just a little bit” is probably the best answer one can give. With the sun shining down on proceedings, the benches by the Blossom Hill Ladies Day stage seemed the place to be. Kids scoffed Eddie Rockets from the on-site van (A tad cheaper than the above photographed seafood bar, granted!), babies got to grips with ice cream cones and the serious horse connoisseurs got to grips with a large and excellent market. An antiques market area kept me busy, with rare works by the likes of Seán Ó Faoláin and Flann O’ Brien popping up, but alas out of my ‘crumpled twenty euro note’ reach. The antiques market, large green areas for relaxation and bustling bars suggest Ladies Day to be the most social of the event, and nothing too serious occurring.

Me and horses have only met once before. Punchestown, 2008 I believe. Money was won, lost, won again and ultimately lost. Actually, come to think of it I left ten Euro up, though we ended proceedings in a nice Ballymore Eustace pub. Back on topic however, and there was no such temptation here. William Hill, Paddy Power and the other lads didn’t seem invited to the party. Instead, by the main stand a petting area allowed Dublin babies to gaze at goats and horses, and rural babies to not see the attraction of it all in the slightest. Inside the stadium, which I last entered to see Saint Patrick’s Athletic take on Hertha Berlin, the main attractions were to be found. There is a thrill even watching horses perform at such close range, in front of such a mixed crowd. A member of staff told me that come tomorrow much of the high heels will find themselves back in the wardrobe, and this might resemble a football terrace more than a catwalk!

Of course, you all know enough about this blog to know the bars would be sampled. Plastic cups, the enemy of the Guinness drinker, featured at every bar. In the context of such an event, this has to be expected. A €5, on the day of an event like this, the pint was a tad cheaper than expected. English visitors commented on the shocking price of pints in Dublin in general (Amen, brothers) but I explained this was a fairly typical price in parts of Dublin. The Guinness was more than fine, far better than I expect from festivals of any kind. Isn’t it great to even have the option? A recent trip to Leonard Cohen in Sligo offered Heineken or eh….nothing.

The site is massive, crossing the road and continuing on the Simonscourt side of the RDS. There, a display by Monty Roberts (Or eh…The Man Who Listens To Horses) seemed the big draw for fair weather types like myself. While I know little about the world of horses, beyond the fact they don’t go well in the context of weekly wages and betting slips, culturally the significance of the day was clear to me, and as an excercise in people watching it was a day and a half. We took off then and walked in the direction of the George Bernard Shaw pub, to wrap up a great Thursday.

Maybe that great traditional number, The Galway Races, has the appeal of such events in one.

There was half a million people there
Of all denominations
The Catholic, the Protestant, the Jew, the Presbyterian
Yet there was no animosity
No matter what persuasion
But failte hospitality
Inducing fresh acquaintance…

The Dublin Horse Show runs until Sunday at the RDS, Ballsbridge.