page_title: RDS Arena
section_title: Show Jumping
hierarchical_section_title: RDS Arena / Sporting events / Show Jumping
caption_attribution_description: English: RDS Dublin Horse Show 2008 main arena, looking at the Anglesea Stand
context_page_description: RDS Arena is a multi-purpose sports stadium, owned by the Royal Dublin Society and located in the Dublin suburb of Ballsbridge, Ireland.
  The arena was developed to host equestrian events, primarily the annual Dublin Horse Show, which was first held there in 1881. The site had been acquired in 1879 by the RDS. The primary tenants of the RDS Arena are Leinster Rugby who compete in the Pro14 and Champions Cup. The arena has also hosted soccer and wrestling events and concerts. It has a capacity of 18,500, 16,500 of which is seated.
  The demountable north and south stands are removed for equestrian events, with only the Grandstand and Angelsea Stand permanent. The Angelsea Stand was completed in 1927.
context_section_description: The Arena was originally constructed to host show-jumping events, the Dublin Horse Show has been held by the RDS annually since 1864. In 1881 the Show moved to ‘Ball's Bridge', a greenfield site. The first continuous ‘leaping' course was introduced at the Show. In the same year the first viewing stand was erected on the site of the present Grand Stand. It held 800 people.
  In 1925 Colonel Zeigler of the Swiss Army first suggested holding an international jumping event. The Aga Khan of the time heard of this proposal and offered a challenge trophy to the winner of the competition.
  In 1926 International Competitions were introduced to the show and was the first time the Nations' Cup for the Aga Khan Challenge trophy was held. Up until 1949 the Nations' Cup teams had to consist of military officers. Six countries competed in the first international teams competition for the Aga Khan Challenge trophy - Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Ireland. The Swiss team won the title on Irish bred horses.
  In 1976, after 50 years of international competition, the two grass banks in the Arena were removed so the Arena could be used for other events. The continental bank at the western end of the Main Arena was added later.
  The RDS also hosted the Show Jumping World Championships in 1982.
caption: RDS hosting the Dublin Horse Show
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot A720 IS", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2008:08:13 14:32:17", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "189", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "180", "Thumbnail YResolution": "180", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "3441", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7078", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/500", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2008:08:08 01:29:06", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:08:08 01:29:06", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "5", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "287/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "29/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2592", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1944", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "2592", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "1944", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "3276", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "11520", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1944000/169", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}