A recent consultation with all the organisers led to the unanimous agreement that co-ordinating a change in venue in time for a 2009 event would compromise the quality of the show.
The Northern Ireland International Horse Show ran successfully for three years at The Odyssey Arena in Belfast, providing equestrian enthusiasts and a wider audience with one of the most entertaining spectacles on the Belfast entertainments calendar.
The move to The Balmoral Showgrounds is being implemented to cater for the logistical infrastructure that surrounds the show, which was beginning to outgrow the facilities available at The Odyssey Arena.
Joe Sloan, Northern Ireland International Horse Show President, explained: "Logistically we needed to make a decision to accommodate the future growth of the show. All the directors are agreed that The Balmoral Showgrounds represents the future for the Northern Ireland International Horse Show. After much deliberation all parties agreed that the planning issues involved in staging this year's Show in a new venue, at such short notice, may compromise the quality of the event. Having created one of the equestrian world's most spectacular Shows in recent years we firmly believe this decision is the right one. We will be back in 2010 with a bigger, better Northern Ireland International Horse Show."
Over the years the show has attracted a wealth of Irish, British and international show jumping talent including Tim Stockdale, Nick Skelton, Geoff Billington, Russian rider Vladimir Beletsky, Dutch riders Gert Jan Bruggink, Jocken Munsterhuis and Jurgen Stenfert, the Whitaker brothers and the latest young Whitaker sensation, Ellen, who took joint first at last year's Puissance.
Amongst the international equestrian talent there has been an array of spectacular display acts including world famous Pignon, the Ukrainian Cossacks with their death-defying stunts and The Metropolitan Police Service Mounted Training Unit.
Mr Sloan continued: "We are in the process of alerting many of our corporate sponsors and funding partners. We are pleased to say many are supporting our decision and realise that the logistical preparation that goes into a show of this calibre requires up to 12 months of meticulous planning.
"On behalf of the Northern Ireland International Horse Show I would like to thank all our sponsors and funding partners for their unanimous support over the last three years. We are all looking forward to working together towards an even better Northern Ireland International Horse Show in 2010."