From Dublin to Scone: What a Summer for Zara’s Planet
Written by Zara
What a way to round off summer 2026.
August took the Zara’s Planet team from the Gallagher Dublin Horse Show at the RDS to the magnificent Scone Palace International Horse Trials in Scotland — two of the highlights of the equestrian calendar in Europe and two very different weeks of horses, friends, clients, bubbles, world-class sport and, occasionally, a little work!
For me, these shows are never just about what happens in the arena. They’re about the people you meet, old friends who suddenly appear at the tent, clients returning from adventures around the world and conversations that start with “I’ve always dreamed of riding in…”
And this summer gave us plenty of all of the above.
Dublin Horse Show 2026 – there’s nowhere quite like it
I am a little biased I admit BUT The Dublin Horse Show is the best show in the WORLD I think. It’s always one of my favourite weeks of the year, but 2026 was particularly special. It’s the Irish showcase of the international showjumping but equally showing and breeding. With it’s location right in the centre of the city surrounded by embassies and €20million houses its surely unique.
This year marked the 100th running of the Nations’ Cup of Ireland for the Aga Khan Trophy and a new €1 million Rolex Grand Prix of Ireland. The USA ultimately took the historic Aga Khan Trophy just ahead of Ireland, while Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat won the Rolex Grand Prix…he’s a total legend!
But although we love watching the sport, for us the Dublin Horse Show is really about the people.
This year myself (Zara), Jill & chief sommelier, John (my husband) were on duty. We had the best week on the Zara’s Planet trade stand, meeting so many fabulous friends, clients and new faces.
All week we talked Botswana, Mongolia, Argentina, Kenya, Wyoming, Dressage and goodness knows where else. There is something wonderfully dangerous about putting thousands of horse-mad people in one place and asking them:
“So, where in the world would you really love to ride?”
Suddenly that riding safari you've been dreaming about for ten years doesn't seem quite so impossible. ☺
A VIP lunch, the Derby and Nicola FitzGibbons
And thankfully, Dublin wasn't all work.
I escaped the stand when I was very kindly invited for a VIP lunch with my good friend Nicola FitzGibbons and her friends, followed by watching the Derby in the main arena.
What an atmosphere — and even better when you have the benefit of Nicola's unofficial running commentary beside you!
Nicola knows a thing or two about showjumping.
She produced her wonderful horse Puissance from an unknown seven-year-old all the way to CSI5* Grand Prix level and rode him on the Irish Aga Khan team at the RDS in 2011, aged just 23.
And this year Nicola and Puissance have been immortalised on an Irish national stamp commemorating 100 years of the Aga Khan Trophy, featuring them jumping at the RDS.
Puissance is now happily retired at home with Nicola, which makes it all the lovelier.
I know Nicola these days as the woman who trains and produces my daughter Sunnibhe and her showjumper Echo owned by my dear friend Jane Hancock.
Coach extraordinaire doesn't really cover it.
We’ve had so much fun with her, including travelling over to Spain last year for an FEI show. Nicola has a wonderful ability to make nothing seem impossible — something that's rather useful when horses are involved!
Old friends – and one we once had to rescue from the Andes
One of the loveliest things about having a stand is never knowing who will turn up to visit.
My good friend Lorli Higgins dropped in with her lovely sister, Irish Olympic dressage rider Anna Merveldt.
Lorli and I have a bit of history.
She happened to be riding Over the Andes when Covid hit and the world suddenly started shutting down around us. Getting her out of the Andes and onto a rescue flight home became something of a Zara's Planet mission!
Thankfully, our next adventure to Brazil’s Coconut trail was considerably less dramatic.
Lorli and I are off dressage riding in Portugal this November, so I'm looking forward to seeing how my dressage efforts compare with the coaching she gets from her Olympic sister.
I have a feeling I already know the answer...
Saturday night at Roly’s
And you can't have Dublin Horse Show week without a good night out.
On Saturday Jill, I & two of Jill’s clients joined Cathy Joyce and her delightful Eventful Riders group, who were travelling on an epic equestrian tour of Ireland that we run together, along with John Sobey, owner of Macatoo camp in Botswana's Okavango Delta.
What followed can probably best be described as a riot of a dinner at Roly's Bistro, surrounded by the showjumping fraternity.
There was great food, plenty of laughter and even personalised Zara's Planet menus.
Roly's, you are the best.
And naturally, with John at the table, the conversation eventually found its way back to Botswana.
There is something about riding through the Okavango Delta among elephant, giraffe, zebra and buffalo that gets under your skin. Macatoo has been one of our much-loved African riding experiences for years, and talking about it over dinner invariably results in somebody else wanting to go.
Next stop: Scone Palace International Horse Trials
A few weeks later, Jill & Laura packed up the stand again from their Scottish base and headed north to Scone Palace International Horse Trials in Scotland.
This time it was Zara, Jill and Laura on duty. Laura with our sister company Horsenriderbnb where you can bring your own horse on holidays in the UK & Ireland.
And there may have been bubbles…ok a LOT of bubbles…are you surprised?
Jill had somehow managed to secure the most fabulous position directly in front of the showjumping arena, so our "office" for the weekend came with one of the best views at Scone.
We got to watch some of the biggest names in the sport showing us how it's done, including Tim Price and Laura Collett, while the international eventing itself produced some fabulous results.
Piggy March and Cooley Anything You Like won the CCI4*-L, Gemma Stevens took the CCI4*-S aboard Cooley Park Muze, Izzy Taylor won the CCI3*-L with Barrington Boy and Tom McEwen won the CCI2*-L with Brookfield In The Spotlight.
But one of our ringside highlights was watching Tom McEwen's epic victory in the Scone Palace 1.40m Grand Prix.
Fresh from winning World Championship team gold in Aachen, Tom switched disciplines and showed that eventers can be rather handy showjumpers too.
And we got to watch it all from the stand. Not a bad day at the office.
The Mongolian crew descend on Scone
Then half of Mongolia seemed to arrive on stand.
Earlier this summer, Jill & I travelled through Mongolia with a fantastic Zara's Planet group of 23, and about half of our Mongolian crew appeared at Scone sporting their Genghis Khan polo shirts.
What fun.
There was much reminiscing, plenty of laughter and possibly another bottle or five of bubbles opened.
This is one of the things I love most about Zara's Planet.
People might initially book with us as clients, but after you've spent days crossing Mongolia together on horses — or shared a campfire in Africa or galloped across Argentina — the relationship becomes something completely different.
The trips finish.
The friendships don't.
And then Toddy dropped by...
We also had a rather legendary visitor to the Zara's Planet stand when Sir Mark Todd — or Toddy — dropped in for some banter.
Perhaps even a little chat about holidays too... 😉
Toddy has already experienced Macatoo in Botswana's Okavango Delta and was waxing lyrical about his adventures there.
Considering this is a man who has ridden a horse or two in his time — and in a few corners of the world — we'll take that!
What a lovely man.
And another of those completely spontaneous encounters that make being at these shows such fun.
An inspirational evening with Tiggy’s Trust
Jill and I were also very kindly invited to a Tiggy's Trust evening, which was a completely different but equally memorable part of Scone.
Irish international event riders Aoife Clark and Austin O'Connor gave brilliant talks, sharing their experiences and offering some invaluable insight into what it takes to get to the top in eventing.
But what particularly impressed us was the work Tiggy's Trust is doing for young riders.
The Trust brought a huge contingent of young Irish riders and their eventing and games ponies over to Scone, giving these kids the chance to participate in and experience a major international equestrian event.
It's some operation.
And what an exceptional opportunity to give young riders — not simply to compete abroad, but to be surrounded by some of the very best riders in the world and see what might be possible.
And the winner is...
There was one more very exciting piece of business to take care of before our summer show season finished.
Throughout the season we'd been running a fabulous Zara's Planet competition to win a ranch holiday in Wyoming. We had thousands of entries.
And finally it was time to pull out one very lucky name:
Congratulations to Susan Rossi from England! 🎉
Susan has won a week at one of our long-standing partners, Kara Creek Ranch in Wyoming.
We absolutely love Kara Creek and no doubt Susan is going to have an absolute blast.
This is a proper authentic cowboy ranch, particularly geared towards experienced riders who want to get stuck into genuine ranch life.
Depending on what's happening during your stay, you can find yourself involved in branding and full-on cattle work, spending long, exhilarating days in the saddle and experiencing the freedom of riding across the wide-open landscapes of Wyoming.
It's authentic, sometimes challenging and enormous fun.
And when the day's work is done? Well, there might just be some dancing at the saloon bar. It's a proper Western experience, which is exactly why we've loved working with Kara Creek for so many years.
Susan's reaction when she discovered she'd won?
“When I got the call to tell me I’d won, I honestly couldn’t believe it! I’ve always wanted to do a ranch holiday, but there was also a real emotional side to it for me. I’d been planning to do a ranch holiday with my lovely friend Jayne, who sadly passed away earlier this year before we had the chance to make those plans happen. So, in a strange little way, it feels like maybe Jayne has given me the kick, and the spur on, and the luck, to finally go and do it. I’m incredibly excited to experience Wyoming, ride some Quarter Horses and have a proper adventure. It feels very special.”
The universe certainly works in mysterious ways, and we couldn’t agree more that this prize found its rightful home.
And that's a wrap on summer 2026
From Dublin to Scone, what a few weeks it has been.
World-class horses and riders. Nicola's Derby commentary. Olympic riders appearing at the stand. Old friends from Mongolia. Toddy talking Botswana. Tiggy's Trust. Cathy and the Eventful Riders gang. A riotous dinner at Roly's. Thousands of competition entries. One very happy winner.
And an awful lot of bubbles.
But the thing I come away thinking about most isn't actually the competition.
It's the people. The horse world has a wonderful way of bringing people together.
Somebody who first contacts us about a riding holiday and trip of a lifetime can end up travelling with us again and again. Clients become friends. Guides and lodge owners become part of the extended Zara's Planet family. And eventually you find yourself standing at a horse show laughing about something that happened together on the other side of the world.
That's what makes it all such fun.
So, as summer comes to an end, it's heads back down at the desk for a little while for the Zara's Planet team — putting together adventures and sending everyone else off around the world.
But not for too long.
Winter is coming to this side of the world, which means a few of us will shortly be doing what we do best and heading south for some exciting Zara's Planet hosted trips in the Southern Hemisphere.
After all, somebody has to do it.
See you somewhere in the world — preferably on horse.
Zara x
Congratulations, Zara's Planet, on your winning adventures, home and abroad.
Best wishes.
Asma x