Four Irish riders will line out for tonight’s five-star Palm Beach Masters Grand Prix in Florida, hoping to take a share of the $210,000 (184,000 euro) prize money on offer and also gain valuable Longines ranking points.

The 1m60 jump-off competition also serves as a qualifying competition for both the European Championships in Rotterdam this year, and the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.

Held at Deeridge Farms’s impressive venue, the competition will see 43 starters in total, with 21 year-old Cormac Hanley leading the Irish challenge aboard the 12 year-old bay mare Alma Z, drawn 19th to jump. Hanley, who is also on the Irish squad for Sunday’s Nations Cup in Florida, will be followed by Darragh Kenny and the talented Babalou, jumping 26th, and Shane Sweetnam on Kirschwasser SCF (37th), with Paul O’Shea and Imerald van’t Voorhof finishing the Irish entries at 38th.

The Irish face a formidable international field of competitors from 12 other countries in the Grand Prix, which begins at 7pm Irish time, and will be available to watch at this link.

Regular updates will also be available on We Live Horse’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.

-Jack Burns