‘It would be totally the icing on the cake’: young horse producer on what makes Dublin a show like no other
Rachel Moore Rooney has her heart set on a Dublin Horse Show hunter championship, and is excited about her upcoming judging appointment at HOYS
With Dublin Horse Show this week (5-9 August), Ballynahinch-based showing producer Rachel Moore Rooney’s schedule has been jam-packed with preparations.
But she found time to speak to H&H showing editor Bethan Simons for episode 179 of The Horse & Hound podcast, sponsored by Clip My Horse TV, about preparing young horses for Dublin and the incredibly buzzy atmosphere.
Rachel concedes that “it is a big ask” for young horses.
“I don't think anyone understands like how buzzy it is until you're in that ring. So it's a big ask for them,” says Rachel.
“Our four and five-year-olds have to do three shows before they're actually allowed to compete at Dublin Horse Show, which is good. It gives the ride judge a little bit of reassurance that they've seen a bit and done a bit because it is a massive atmosphere.”
To prepare for the show, Rachel prefers to take her youngsters to quieter fixtures.
“I like to just do a few quieter shows with them, and I don't like to expose them to a massive atmosphere, because it can sometimes send them the other way,” she explains.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
“We try to do a lot of local shows and just keep everything nice and calm, and just hope. A lot of them won't take the atmosphere, so you kind of gauge their temperament at home and what they're going to be like. Not everything will cope with Dublin.”
Winning at Dublin
Over the years, Rachel has enjoyed considerable success at Dublin, including a shock win in the working hunter championship, something she considers a career highlight.
“We’d had a long, long week. It had been an okay week, but you know when you're just kind of deflated? And you had high hopes for a horse, and one thing and another happened?” she says of the build-up to that win.
The workers plays out on the show’s final day, and having been there for a week, Rachel felt she’d rather go home.
“I was like, ‘Do you know what? We’ll just pack up and we’ll go home’.”
To add to the week’s pressure’s, Rachel was set to marry now husband Kyle four days later. Luckily, Kyle and her parents felt she should go for her last class of the week.
“My mum threw the plaits in with bands – she never plaits with bands – but the class was starting. So she was plaiting him, and one of the girls was studding, and they let me walk the course. I was like, ‘it's quite a quite a steep track’, but I knew my horse was more than capable and thought ‘I'm just gonna go in, and whatever happens, that'll keep everyone happy if nothing else’.”
It was a good thing she stayed.
“We went in, and he jumped the most perfect round, and he rode just amazing for the judge, and he won, and then he was champion. You couldn't have written it. It just was meant to be. We’d had him since a foal so it was a long old road, and he just was such a special horse. That was my last show with him. He then was sold. It was lovely.”
Looking ahead, it’s the hunter championship that Rachel has her eye on:
“I think everyone says the same, but my goal would be to win the hunter championship at Dublin. It would just be totally the icing on the cake. But I guess every single person on this side of the water would all say the same.
“That will be the dream to win that supreme on a Saturday morning in the main arena. But we'll keep giving it a go and keep trying, and maybe one day it'll happen, and maybe it won't. But that's okay; it can still be my goal and we can keep chasing it.”
Judging at HOYS
Beyond Dublin, Rachel has an exciting judging appointment: Horse of the Year Show (HOYS). She’s named as one of the pool of judges who will be allocated classes the night before the class.
“It is really exciting. I'm really looking forward to it. It'll be great. I go most years so it'll be a weird one not competing, but definitely it's a privilege to be asked.”
In the face of speculation that appointed judges do know what they are judging but are sworn to secrecy, Rachel is clear: “No, I genuinely do not know what I'm judging.
“I could be as shocked as everyone else, so I'm just gonna take it and see what comes. It's gonna be a surprise for me as well as everyone else.”
In the podcast, Rachel goes on to elaborate on the trials it poses when it comes to packing her outfit for judging.
“I think we're going to have to overpack and just be prepared to do anything.”
For more exclusive insights into top riders and their horses, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website
Bethan joined Horse & Hound as showing editor in January 2025, after spending two years as Editor for Showing World. Having adored ponies since childhood, she started showing as a teenager and has enjoyed wins at major shows up and down the country, including Royal Highland, New Forest, and the Royal Welsh, as well as HOYS, RIHS and London. She is particularly passionate about Welsh breeds and is also a Welsh language commentator.