As the Official Vehicle Sponsor of the Belfast International Horse Show 2004 Charles Hurst Chrysler and Jeep will be representing horse power of a different kind at the Odyssey Arena from the 2nd -5th December. As part of the association Friday nights’ feature class has been named the ‘Charles Hurst Chrysler and Jeep Classic’.

Believe it or not the two worlds of cars and horses are not as far apart as it may first seem. Peter Gordon, Group Marketing Director, explains: “There is a rich history of equestrian culture in Ireland and as such there are a large number of horses which are constantly being transported to various shows and events; that’s where Charles Hurst comes in. The Jeep brand especially has a close affinity with the equestrian scene resulting in a large number of horse boxes currently being pulled around Ireland behind Cherokee and Grand Cherokee vehicles.”

Charles Hurst will be providing transport for the competitors in the form of luxurious Grand Voyager MPV’s but more importantly a Chrysler Crossfire Roadster will actually be used in the arena itself by competitors as part of the ‘Ride & Drive’ event. Entrants will have to complete a round on horse back before dismounting, jumping into the Crossfire and tackling another course in the car with the combined time for both counting towards that event.

The overall prize of a Jeep Cherokee worth around £25,000 will be presented by Charles Hurst to the rider with the most points after the four days of competition are completed. With entrants such as the Cian O’Conner; Olympic Champion, Dermot Lennon; World Champion, and Bruno Broucqsault; World Cup Holder, the competition is sure to be of the highest quality and fiercely contested.

Peter Gordon added: “Charles Hurst is proud to be associated with the Belfast International Horse Show and the Northern Ireland Events Company as we believe this is a large step to the province hosting other world class events and raising the profile of Northern Ireland as an international venue.”

This year’s Belfast International Horse Show extravaganza at the Odyssey Arena on 2nd – 5th December will play host to one of the United Kingdom’s biggest children’s charities. Organisers of the four-day event have invited the provinces’ Make-A-Wish organisation to become part of the show to help raise funds for the regional charity.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation with the help of Belfast International Horse Show will be raising funds and building awareness for children aged 3 to 18 who are living with life threatening illnesses at each of this year’s seven pre Christmas shows.

This remarkable charity have succeeded in making over 3,000 very special children’s wish come true. The charity, who were founded in 1986, has successfully turned this objective into a reality for many children and the Belfast International Horse Show want to help make this happen for even more children across Northern Ireland at this year’s shows.

The Horse Show will stage a competition at each performance where they will make a lucky member of the audience’s wish come true, by giving them the opportunity to met one of the famous people taking part in the show. All proceeds for the competition will be donated to Make-A-Wish Charity.

Stephen Wilkie, Regional Manager, Make–A–Wish Foundation Northern said, “The Christmas period is obviously a magical time for everyone - as such is the best time of year for our charity to highlight the importance of our very special work to make dreams and wishes come true - not just at Christmas but every day of the year!

“The organisers of this year’s Belfast International Horse Show have given the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Northern Ireland a fantastic opportunity to raise much needed funds for our very special charity. Our target is to raise £10,000 and if we achieve this it will be a spectacular start to the Christmas Season for some very brave children here in Northern Ireland.”

Theresa McKenna, Event Director, Belfast International Horse Show said, “We feel the Make-A-Wish Charity is a very worthwhile cause, especially as it is associated with young children, and we are delighted that they have agreed to an association with our Show.

“As the show was such a success for us last year we would like to share this success and feel that there is no better way to do so than joining forces with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to help raise as much money as possible for this very worthwhile cause.”

Three national championship finals will be decided at the show - which opens a four-day run on December 2 - all scheduled for 10.30am on either Friday, Saturday or Sunday. “We decided to give our loyal fans extra value for their afternoon performance seats and open up the morning to them as well,” said event director Theresa McKenna.

The John Higgins Construction Belfast Future Champions Irish 6 and 7 year old Final, with £1,000 to the winner, will be on Friday morning, while the winner of the Irish Super League National Young Riders Championship on Saturday also gets a £1,000 share of a £3,000 purse;

Sunday morning’s class will be the Tughan’s Solicitors 148cms Pony Championship, which rewards the winner with £3,000 out of a £9,000 prize fund.

All Road lead to Belfast to decide the

IJM Timberframe 2004 Indoor Champion

Twenty four of Ireland’s leading horse and rider combinations will compete for a £15,000 purse when the Belfast International Horse Show stages the IJM TimberFrame Irish Super League National Grand Prix Final and League Championship decider on Saturday 4th December.

The grand prix, with £5,000 to the winner, is today announced as sponsored by IJM TimberFrame in association with the Show Jumping Association of Ireland.

IJM Timberframe sponsor the Indoor Super League Championship, from which the 24 riders for this championship have been taken with the official league champion crowned at the Belfast show after a hotly contested series of rounds staged at leading venues all over Ireland.

As well as the cash prize, the winner will take home an eye-catching IJM Timberframe Crystal Trophy.

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