Changes made to programming and other aspects of the Dublin Horse Show have helped to give it a new look which has gone down well with visitors, according to Michael Duffy, the chief executive of the Royal Dublin Society.
At the end of the event yesterday, Mr Duffy said initial research had given positive results which indicated the show had been a "great success", with attendance in the region of 80,000.
The show was held mainly to support Irish breeders of the sport horse and to improve breeding and create a market for these animals. It was a unique event and his job was to balance the traditional with the modern elements.
Mr Duffy said one of the initiatives which seemed to have worked well this year was the new innovation of circulating a DVD catalogue of horses which had qualified for the show. In conjunction with the Irish Horse Board, buyers had been brought in from the US, France and Britain but the results of this initiative would not be known for some time.
He confirmed that a survey of participants had picked up their concerns about the cost of entering animals and keeping them at the show for the period involved. "We know about these complaints . . . but we are trying to run a top-quality event and we are very conscious of the cost. I know that people would say that we should drop the fees, but it is not as simple as that".
He rejected the claim that it had become a "rich man's show", saying this was bringing the argument involved to its extreme, but it was an area the society was looking at. "The Horse Show is very expensive to run and is not a commercial operation. It costs €3 million or more. Our input, varying from year to year, has been €300,000 to €400,000 support.
"We have managed to reduce the deficit by sponsorship and there has been increased sponsorship. The society has been investing money in redevelopment of the show, in things like the DVD and changes in the jumping and the young eventing classes," he said. The society was attempting to keep a balance in all areas such as admission costs, entertainment for visitors and the trade show. There would be a root-and-branch review when all the important issues would be looked at closely.
Mr Duffy said the €1 million given by the Government for upgrading the main stand to give it 50,000 seats and floodlighting would make it a top-quality sporting arena. Discussions were proceeding with the IRFU and the FAI on continuing rugby and soccer at the stadium.