EACH year, when compiling this review, I’m always amazed at the success of our international show jumping riders.
While there were rows at home about the delay in appointing the High Performance management teams, about dates and about Showjumping Ireland and directors, the country’s success on the world stage continues to be one of punching well above our weight. The pages of coverage each week are testament to that fact.
Okay, the senior team finished in that frustrating position of fourth at the European championships at A Coruna in Spain, a competition well covered by Judith Faherty in the issues of July 19th and 26th. But there were Nations’ Cup victories and Grand Prix successes worldwide from the start of the year.
Although narrowly missing out on three gold medals in a row, the Young Riders squad of Tim Brennan, Max Foley, Niamh McEvoy, Tom Wachman and Coen Williams claimed silver at Riesenbeck, Germany, where the Junior squad of Alice Wachman, Tabitha Kyle (individual silver), Paddy Reape, Jack Kent and Emily Moloney (individual gold) won the team gold medal. All covered in the issue of July 19th.
At Le Mans, France, as July turned into August, the Irish squad of Ruben Foley, Sam Widger, Cian McMunn (individual gold), Charlie Flynn (individual silver) and Lily Tunney won team silver at the European Pony championships. The report on this fixture appeared on August 9th.
The home crowd got to support their heroes during the Dublin Horse Show which was previewed and reviewed extensively in the issues of August 2nd, 9th and 16th.
Towards the end of the year, the above-mentioned Tom Wachman was named the Longines FEI Rising Star, his achievement being brought to the attention of riders by Judith Faherty in her editorial of November 8th.
Rising eventing tides
Not wanting to start or end on a negative note, am mixing things up when it comes to Irish Horse World reports on eventing, nationally and internationally, during 2025.
On the positive side, Lesley Hunter-Nolan wrote in the issue of September 27th: ‘Ireland won the silver medal at the Agria FEI European Eventing Championships thanks to superb cross-country and show jumping efforts from Padraig McCarthy, Ian Cassells and Robbie Kearns’.
In the international pages on August 30th, Bree Rutledge had earlier covered the European Young Riders championships in Poland where the performances of Godfrey Gibbons, Ben Connors, Tom Nestor and Momo Sheehy saw ‘Ireland take silver in Strzegom’.
Things looked promising on the home front in the issue of February 1st, when Hunter-Nolan wrote: ‘A disagreement between event organisers and Eventing Ireland that threatened to decimate the calendar for the upcoming season is on the cusp of being resolved.
‘It is understood the issues centred around assurances over insurances, the fact no meeting was held to discuss the 2025 calendar and a request from event organisers for a greater proportion of entry fees was not actioned to their satisfaction’.
On the same subject, but on to February 8th: ‘Eventing calendar back on track’; to March 15th: ‘Eventing calendar still in doubt’; to April 19th: ‘No resolution to eventing calendar’; finally to May 10th, when there was a sense of déjà vu: ‘Eventing calendar back on track’.
Happily for those seeking MERs or just wanting to get some sport from their horses and/or value for their membership, the Northern Region ran a full season of events with the Fell family staging two national one-day events, in addition to their April international, during the spring.
In conjunction with their autumn international, the Fells hosted the inaugural Pony Club home nations’ cup and the first running of the Treo Eile thoroughbred EI100 three-day challenge. Late in the season, in early October in fact, the new EI venue of Barnadown hosted the 2025 EI national championships.
The sport in this country received a great boost towards the end of the season with Judith Faherty writing on November 8: ‘Millstreet set to host the U25 World Championships’.