Before the deafening cheers, before the million-euro prizes, before 120,000 visitors, and before a single championship sash is draped across a horse’s neck, there is another Gallagher Dublin Horse Show from 5-9 August.
Today, the stables are still quiet. The scent of fresh shavings hangs in the air, mingling with coffee carried in paper cups as lorries begin easing through the RDS gates. It is difficult to reconcile that calm with what is about to unfold for the 2026 edition of the famous city-centre horse show with roots dating back to 1864.
Within days, around 1,600 horses will fill 1,200 temporary stables. More than 160 competitions will be staged. Hundreds of judges, officials, veterinarians, course builders and almost 240 volunteer stewards will somehow transform months of planning into one of the world’s most celebrated equestrian events.
Yet when Fiona Sheridan sits down to talk about the event she now directs, none of that is where we begin.
“I love working with young horses,” she says. “That’s always been a passion of mine. I used to break them in myself and I loved it, driving them in long reins and doing lots of groundwork with them. I’ve always bought a few young ones from breeders. That’s probably my real thrill, finding what I think is a diamond in the rough. I just love that.”
It is a revealing place to begin. After all, this is the woman responsible for overseeing one of the biggest logistical operations in Irish sport. Yet the conversation keeps returning, quite naturally, to horses.
“I keep a good few mares at home with my dad,” Fiona explains. “I’ve tried to keep the numbers down in recent times because, with work, it’s impossible to do it all.”
Horse owners will recognise the dilemma immediately. That practical understanding of breeding, producing and living with horses quietly underpins everything Fiona says about the Gallagher Dublin Horse Show.
It also explains why she talks less about running a horse show than creating an experience for the people who dedicate so much of their lives to world-class Irish horses.
“Everything has to be carefully planned over the year; parking, stabling, entries, schedules, exhibitors, the scale is enormous,” she admits.
Behind it all sits a surprisingly small core equestrian team, working alongside an army of officials and volunteers whose combined experience keeps the entire operation moving.
Emotional investment
It’s Fiona’s second year as director and she’s full of praise for her “exceptional” team. She admits too that the years spent with horses have proved good preparation for her role.
“Horses definitely teach you resilience and fortitude,” she says with a laugh. “You can have all the plans in the world, but with horses, you never quite know what you’re going to find in the field in the morning, do you?”
If the logistics of the Dublin Horse Show are immense, the emotional investment behind it is even greater. Every August, hundreds of people arrive at the RDS carrying far more than saddles and show jackets. They bring with them months, sometimes years, of quiet preparation. Early mornings before work. Countless journeys to qualifiers. Breeders nurturing bloodlines over generations. Families who have quietly organised the rest of life around one ambition: getting to Dublin.
Fiona has never lost sight of that.
“It’s really a year-long process,” she says. “We have around 8,000 qualifier entries, so it’s a huge undertaking for someone to get a horse to Dublin.
“You’ve kids from Mayo competing alongside the world’s greatest riders. You have Pony Club members. You have young horse producers from Galway, Clare, Fermanagh. You have breeders from Kildare, Wexford and Wicklow. You have the international riders preparing for the Elliott Group Nations’ Cup of Ireland and the annual battle for the coveted Aga Khan Trophy or for the Rolex Grand Prix. It’s the whole gamut of Irish equestrianism, coming together for one week, and that’s something we are all immensely proud of.”
It is difficult to think of another sporting event where those worlds all meet so naturally. The famous RDS arenas may capture the headlines, but around it stretches an entire ecosystem of Irish horse people whose stories are every bit as important.
“The great thing is that it’s been able to evolve,” she reflects.
Golden Ticket
This year, the RDS introduced the Golden Ticket qualification system, developed in partnership with Showjumping Ireland. On paper it simplifies entries. In reality, Fiona sees something much bigger.
“What it’s really doing is helping to build a database of Irish performance horses, and that’s something we’ve lacked. Working together with Showjumping Ireland on that gave me such a buzz because you knew you were doing something positive for the industry.”
“Even the people who don’t qualify are part of something,” she says. “It’s bringing people together. That’s what underpins the RDS mission of supporting the Irish Sport Horse industry, Irish breeders and Irish producers.”
That answer says more about Fiona Sheridan than perhaps any other during our conversation. The glamour, impressive though it is, seems almost secondary. The grassroots are not.
That philosophy extends far beyond competition too. Throughout show week, organisations such as Festina Lente, Riding for the Disabled Association Ireland (RDAI) and a growing range of equine-assisted services remind visitors that horses contribute to Irish society in ways that stretch well beyond sport.
“The value of what they do, and the way horses can touch people’s lives, is incredible. The positive role horses play in society is something we can never promote enough.”
Fiona rarely has the opportunity to stand still in show week. Yet, there are moments that stop her completely.
“They’re often not the big moments people would expect,” she says. “You’re walking past one of the rings and you see an exhibitor who’s just completely overjoyed. They’ve got their red rosette and they’re celebrating, and honestly it can bring you to tears because you’re just so happy for them.”
Some memories have stayed with Fiona throughout her 20 years at the Royal Dublin Society. She remembers the emotion when Mexico, rank outsiders, won the Aga Khan Cup in 2018.
“I remember them coming into the office afterwards and they were just overcome,” she recalls. “The way the Irish crowd received them and applauded them was incredible. It meant so much to them to win here in Dublin.”
“I remember when Cian O’Connor won the Grand Prix and came into the office afterwards.
“He was just overcome with emotion and in tears. It was just wonderful to see.”
Horses definitely teach you resilience and fortitude. You can have all the plans in the world, but with horses, you never quite know what you’re going to find in the field in the morning, do you?
For Fiona, the show has never been built by one person alone.
She speaks with enormous affection about the people whose names rarely appear in the catalogue but without whom the week simply couldn’t happen.
“Our stewards are amazing people,” she says. “They give their time freely. They work incredibly hard because they see the value in what they’re doing. That philanthropic spirit is so important.”
As our conversation draws to a close, I ask Fiona one final question. After everything we’ve discussed, the logistics, the volunteers, the million-euro classes, what is it about horses that continues to captivate us as a nation?
For the first time, she pauses.
“I don’t know whether it’s because they’re just magical to look at, or it’s the calm they bring,” she says quietly. “But even just being in the field with them, they bring you back down to earth. Just looking into their eyes, they’re just incredible animals. I certainly can’t be without them in my life.”
Perhaps that love of horses and equestrian community is the quiet force that so successfully shapes the Gallagher Dublin Horse Show under Fiona Sheridan’s care. Behind every packed grandstand and perfectly choreographed day in August is a horsewoman who has never forgotten why any of it matters.
See dublinhorseshow.com
SHARING OPTIONS