Tipperary will be well represented when the very best retrained racehorses are showcased

A host of racing and equestrian stars are taking part in the Treo Eile Christmas show on Thursday December 14 at the Emerald Equestrian Centre near Enfield, on the Kildare/Meath border.

The first of five events on the show programme starts at 1pm, featuring the HRI Treo Eile Thoroughbred Classic – a team competition to showcase the very best of Ireland's retrained racehorses.

The team competition has attracted some of racing’s brightest stars to captain the teams including Rachael Blackmore, Jack Kennedy, Gary Carroll, Patrick Mullins, Robbie Power, Rory Cleary, Katie Walsh, Davy Russell, Norman Wiliamson and Charlie Swan.

Each team captain will be joined by two show jumping or eventing competitors and a pony rider who will each ride a variety of former racehorses over a course of jumps, followed by a jump-off to decide the winners of the coveted Horse Racing Ireland Perpetual Cup.

Professional riders include Dublin Horse Show’s puissance winner, Commandant Geoff Curran from the Irish Army Equitation School; Olympic eventer Joseph Murphy; and European medallist, Elizabeth ‘Esib’ Power, who will also line out for the team event.

Other Tipperary participants include Charlie Swan and Olivia Swan.

Treo Eile (the Irish for another direction) was founded in 2020 with the aim of assisting breeders, owners and trainers in transitioning both raced and unraced thoroughbreds to a second career.