The age old sport of steeplechase is being given a modern-day makeover this weekend as Red Bull Steeple Cross takes place in Buttevant, Ireland.
Red Bull is reinventing the steeple to steeple chase, replacing the thud of horse hooves with the roar of motorbike engines as motocross riders tackle a course built on the site of the original steeplechase. It promises to be an event not to be missed.
The steeplechase originated in Ireland in the 18th century as an analogue to cross-country thoroughbred horse races which went from church steeple to church steeple, hence ‘steeplechase’. The first steeplechase is said to have been the result of a wager in 1752 between Mr. Cornelius O'Callaghan and Mr. Edmund Blake, racing four miles (6 km) cross-country from Buttevant Church to St. Leger Church in Doneraile, Cork.
Find out more about the historic event here.
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