Back in 1986 a touch of magic entered Ireland’s national show jumping scene in the picturesque Salthill Park near Galway city.

To the backdrop of the wild Atlantic and the hills of Clare, the Irish Show Jumping Championship was not only held but over eight glorious years this innovative mid-June event also went out live on prime time RTÉ television.

It was an iconic event never to be forgotten. But could it ever happen again?

It would take an energy and enthusiasm to match that of its initiator, the late Paul Duffy Sr, for it to be reincarnated.

Sadly, that kind of voluntary inspired spirit appears to be in short supply on the Irish scene at the moment.

Paul Duffy’s pride of place, love of the horse and passion for Irish show jumping were the driving forces behind making all but the impossible take place.

As Paul Duffy Jr now recalls of his dad, who passed away in 2014, “rather than problems he saw only solutions”.

Back in the mid-80s, there was no true National Championship that could compare with those run in other European countries.

“He [Paul Sr] set about correcting that in the very region that had been the poor relation of the sport here for many years and he did it in the place that was only a mile from where he was born,” Paul Jr, says.

All systems go

With the full backing of his family and that of businessmen Sean Ashe and Gerry Higgins, the tiny voluntary committee first got permission from Galway Corporation to use the beautiful Salthill Park for the event.

Next, they approached a number of companies for sponsorship and with all of that done, they bravely sought a meeting with Tim O’Connor, Michael O’Carroll and Brian McSharry of RTÉ TV.

Because of the iconic picture they presented of the proposed event, they got the now amazing promise of 90 minutes prime-time broadcasting from 7.30 to 9.00pm over the three days of the inaugural event.

More sponsors came on board and the miracle of the first Irish Show Jumping Championships in Salthill Park was born.

People, who were on hand for the week-long Salthill festival, poured into the Park.

Magic

From the stone wall along Park Avenue they cascaded down the grassy bank to arena’s edge, creating an atmosphere that fully realised all the promise envisioned by Paul and his committee when they first set out on this tricky journey.

“It all had to be done in five days but we managed it and it was magic”, Paul Jr recalls.

That magic lasted for the next seven years in Salthill. It faded following a move to Cladagh in 1994 and ended three years later in 1997.

Including the initial trial at Galway Show in 1995, the cream of Irish show jumping of the time were crowned champions during its 13 runnings.

Eddie Macken (twice), Paul Darragh, Vina Lyons, Harry Marshall, John Ledingham, Gerry Mullins (twice), James Kernan, Francis Connors, Edward Doyle and Conor Swail all wore the champion’s sash.

But while one recalls those heady June evenings, the memory is clouded by the fact that such live TV is not happening now.

A recent effort to revive the event floundered when it was discovered that a six-figure sum would have to be available up front before the cameras would roll.

While that is indeed a stumbling block, the question still has to be asked: ‘Do we have the will to emulate Paul Duffy and see it only as something seeking a solution?’

Or in this second decade of the millennium, have we in the show jumping community gone soft.

What we need

What we need is an initiative that would create a second major international championship in Ireland.

Each week of the year our main riders have millions on offer to them at top flight shows in some 20 countries around the globe.

Except for the great Dublin Horse Show we have no event to offer at that level – no World Cup, no Global Champions, no Grand Slam.

Yes we have the commercial events at Cavan, Millstreet, Mullingar, Barnadown etc.

But for another major international fixture on par with London, Paris, Geneva to happen here it will take visionary leadership of a man like Paul Duffy, the backing of Government and RTÉ, plus financial input from both at home and from the connections of our diaspora.

This along with the voluntary efforts of hundreds could bring it about. As a breeding and competition nation, why not?

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