SHOWJUMPING Ireland and Connolly’s Red Mills this week launched the 2019 Red Mills National Training Bursary Training at Marion Hughes’ stud in Co Kilkenny. The Red Mills National Training Bursary Clinic is a three-day all expenses paid bursary training clinic with some of Ireland’s best coaches for athletes over 16 years of age.

The 2019 Red Mills Bursary will take place at Barnadown Equestrian Centre from July 16th-18th, where the 24 selected athletes will each bring two horses for three days of intensive training in flatwork and jumping.

In addition to the riding, coaching and stable management training, the bursary is designed to offer a complete training experience including lectures from experts in physiotherapy, nutrition, public relations, digital marketing, business and finance and performance management. The aim being to expose the athletes to a broad range of skills that they will need to peruse a career in show jumping.

As part of the partnership, Connolly’s Red Mills head of Equine Nutrition, Lorraine Fradl, will give a series of lectures designed to educate the athletes on the importance and impact of equine nutrition both the wellbeing of their horses and overall performance. At the end of the three days Red Mills, in conjunction with the coaches, will offer one rider the opportunity to join their esteemed list of Red Mills’ riders and will be sponsored for a year. The selected rider will also receive four coaching sessions with Marion Hughes over the 12 months.

Marion Hughes said: “I am a firm believer that we need to have a structure in place that supports the development of future talent and the Red Mills National Training Bursary offers a great platform for our young riders to gain exposure to some top-class coaches and begin to understand the range of skills required to make it in the industry. I am delighted to help launch this year’s Red Mills National Training Bursary and I look forward to meeting the newest Red Mills rider recruit and working with them throughout the year.”

Jane Davis, Equine Brand Manager, Red Mills, said: “When the chance arose to partner with the SJI to sponsor the National Training Bursary, we felt is was the perfect fit. This is a competitive industry and the more that can be done to educate and create connections for our young riders the better. We are really looking forward to getting to know the athletes and to work with them to develop their knowledge around the core areas of equine nutrition.

Chair of Training Committee, Orla Griffin, said: “The National Training Bursary Clinic is always a highly anticipated event on the SJI training calendar. It is a fantastic opportunity for our riders to work along side some of the best coaches to help them get to where they want to be in their career. The SJI training committee are delighted to have Red Mills on board to sponsor the clinic this year and are looking forward to working with them.”