ENTER A CLASS
You can enter almost any class at the Northern Ireland Festival. The only exceptions being classes 401-415 where you need to pre-qualify.
SHOW RULES
Click Here to view the General Show rules, the Class Specific Rules, the Jumping Fence Heights and the Horse and Pony Breed Criteria Specifications.
SPONSORSHIP OPTIONS
Sponsor a Championship, get a ring named after you or your company, book a trade stand or place an advertisement in the next show catalogue.
RUN A QUALIFIER
Apply to run a Northern Ireland Festival working hunter qualifying show. Simple, free sign up process. Choose which classes you wish to run.
WHAT IS NIF?
The Northern Ireland Festival is the largest annual horse and pony show on the island of Ireland. The three day show takes place at Cavan International Equestrian Centre and attracts around 2500 entries each year.
NORTHERN IRELAND FESTIVAL
Established in 2005, the Northern Ireland Festival has become a firm favourite with competitors and many return year after year. This annual ‘equestrian holiday’ offers a diverse range of jumping and showing classes for a wide variety of horses and ponies.
- Three day show with three ‘black tie’ indoor evening performances.
- Six rings operating throughout the weekend on superb all weather surfaces.
- All the judges are recruited from the Great Britain mainland.
- Includes NI Festival Working Hunter championship finals and HOYS qualifiers.
Latest NIF News
NIF 20th Anniversary Logo
NIF 2026 is scheduled to be the 20th Northern Ireland Festival. To celebrate we are pleased to launch our twentieth anniversary logo.
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Amateur of the Year Qualifiers
The Northern Ireland Festival is affiliated to The Showing Register Amateur of the Year. This is a fun filled indoor final taking place at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire on 28th and 29th November 2026. The two highest eligible exhibits not already qualified in each affiliated…
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Timetable with Judges Now Available
The finalised timetable with judges is now available at: Schedule and Class Specific Rules – Northern Ireland Festival Please note we are waiting for confirmation from HOYS regarding the judges on some of their qualifiers. These will be added once approved.
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