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Dublin Horse Show Collection

RDS Digital Archivist Nessa Lyons discusses the Dublin Horse Show collections on the Digital Archive.

                          

The Dublin Horse Show is one of the oldest and most renowned equestrian shows in the world. It is a five-day celebration of Ireland’s equestrian tradition, with over 1,500 horses and a prize fund of over €1.3 million. It is also a significant social event, attracting tens of thousands of visitors from Ireland and abroad. As everyone gets caught up in the spectacle of the 2024 show, it is easy to forget the 160 years of innovation, progress and history that made the Horse Show what it is today.

The first Horse Show was held in 1864, and it looked quite different then. It was a more modest affair, as only 366 horses took part, and the entire prize fund was £250. The show started as a collaboration between the Royal Dublin Society and the Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland, with the goal of improving breeding in the Irish horse, which had suffered a decline due to demand for horses in the Crimean War. In those first decades, it was called the National Horse Show, and it was held in the Agricultural Hall at the RDS premises at Leinster House. Changes were implemented gradually, as four years later, in 1868, the RDS took full responsibility for the Horse Show. In 1879 the RDS acquired the premises at Ballsbridge, and the first show was held there in 1881. Only in 1924 was the title of the show changed to the Dublin Horse Show. The fascinating history of these early years, and the decades since, can be found in the Dublin Horse Show Archive held at the RDS Library & Archives.

In 2019 a large-scale digitisation project began, and since then thousands of documents have been scanned. Each of the scanned files are carefully preserved. This involves running fixity checks, backing-up the files in several places and recording metadata on a digital object register. This digital preservation work is time-consuming, but it is essential to ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy the digital records. After the files are preserved, they are made available to the public on the RDS Library & Archives Digital Archive website. Titles, dates and descriptions are attached to the records so researchers can find what they are looking for. Thanks to this digitisation project, it is now possible for people across the globe to learn the history of the RDS, and specifically the history of the Dublin Horse Show, straight from the primary sources. As one of the largest collections of its kind in Europe, the Dublin Horse Show Archive celebrates the legacy of the show and, also, serves as a resource for understanding Ireland's cultural and social history through the lens of this iconic event.

The Dublin Horse Show Digital Archive consists of three main parts:

1. Catalogues

The Dublin Horse Show Catalogues from 1864 to 2019 are available on the Digital Archive. They provide valuable details such as the schedules of events, the people and the horses involved, the results, and the prizes awarded. The catalogues also give insights into broader aspects, such as the history of advertising, fashion over time, and the development of women’s participation in show jumping and horse breeding. The catalogues have been uploaded to the Digital Archive as searchable PDFs, so it is possible to search for specific words within the documents.

2. Photographs

So far, 1899 photographs relating to the Dublin Horse Show have been digitised. Many of these photographs are available to view on the Digital Archive. It is possible to explore photographs of individual horses and riders, posters and postcards with images of the show, photographs of billboards advertising the show, and many more interesting visual records. The photographs taken at the show are particularly valuable for family historians with ancestors involved in the competitions. Many photographs have yet to be made available to the public so please get in touch if you are searching for a photograph of a particular person, horse, or competition.

3. Exhibitions

Ten exhibitions have been uploaded to the Digital Archive. Most of these exhibitions were created as temporary physical exhibitions in the library, and they have now been uploaded so the public can continue to enjoy them for years to come. Three of the exhibitions are focused on the Dublin Horse Show: “Horse Show Heroes: A History of Show Jumping at the Dublin Horse Show”, “Selling the Show: 154 years of promoting the Dublin Horse Show” an “The Digital Horse Show”. These exhibitions draw on materials held in the RDS Library & Archives and delve into some interesting aspects of the show’s history.