Dublin Bound: The Advice, the Almost-Misses and the Ponies

My name is Jay Notkin and my pony is Caramore Magic Mist, a Class 1 Connemara stallion and he's in the 153 to 158 Working Hunters.

The best Dublin advice I received is to become well prepared and rested.

What nearly stopped me from getting to Dublin was on my second qualifier where I had to compete.

I had forgotten my jogpurs and thankfully to Shane McKenna I borrowed a set of jogpurs to complete my second qualifier.

If I'd asked my pony in the interview in the morning, he would wonder what all this grooming and makeup was all for.

There's such big classes.

It's such a high quality class that actually generally by the time you've done the go around, there's always one in particular that stands out.

It's a combination of the rider and the pony owns the ring.

They just say, look, I'm here.

They shine through the go-round.

I wouldn't necessarily say it's the minute walk in the ring because there are so many nice examples of Connemara's.

The passion, you see it in the faces of the competitors.

You get people that finish sixth and they're absolutely ecstatic.

They could have easily won the class from their reaction.

Dublin, they're sixth and it's a massive celebration, which is wonderful to see.

And the crowd sizes, the support is amazing.

It's just phenomenal.

My advice is just go enjoy every moment.

Lap up the atmosphere.

Live for the moment and go for it.

Give a good gallop and show your pony off the seconds that you get.

Just make sure you smile.

I've both competed there.

I was on the Connemara team one year.

From a competitor's point of view, the show is like nothing I've ever competed at before.