IRELAND’S student riders enjoyed a successful start to the year when they brought home multiple prizes from the 2026 World Finals. AIEC, the governing body for international student riding, held the annual culmination of their Nations Cup series at Leuven in Belgium from December 31st to January 3rd. The Irish team of John Carr, Ciara Dennigan and Jane Fitzgerald contested the Gold League Final and finished second in the show jumping, fourth in the dressage and third in the combined section.

Student riding competitions provide a unique challenge, whereby riders compete on unfamiliar horses after a very limited warm-up. This format did not phase the Irish contingent however, all of whom finished in the top six individually in the show jumping. John Carr, who is also the President of IURCA, the Irish Universities Riding Clubs’ Association, finished in bronze position while his team mates Dennigan and Fitzgerald finished fifth and sixth respectively.

Having finished fourth as a team in the dressage, Ireland was third in the Combined Gold Final, while Carr was fifth overall and Dennigan sixth. Clare Holland, Ireland’s National Representative to AIEC, contested the Silver League Final as an individual and took gold in the show jumping, ahead of Austria’s Alexander Wokaun. Great Britain’s team of dressage rider Gracie Catling, Amy Stewart and international event rider Ellie Fredericks won both the show jumping and the combined gold sections, while Holland beat them into silver in the dressage.

Team Ireland picked up further prizes in Belgium, as they were also awarded the President’s Cup for the most team points amassed through the Nations Cup series, and the Show Jumping Cup for the most team points earned in that discipline since the last World Finals. Ireland’s SRNC, held at Boswell Equestrian Centre in August 2025, won the prize for the best SRNC of the year due to the quality of both the horses and the entertainment provided. This entertainment included a presentation by William Micklem about the importance of preserving and promoting traditional Irish breeding.

“What a fantastic start to 2026 for Team Ireland at World Finals,” said IURCA’s PRO Ali Barrett. “It was an incredible few days of competition, great riding and team spirit, and plenty of results to be proud of. Our team of Ciara, John and Jane did a brilliant job of flying the Irish flag in the Gold League. We also had Clare Holland competing as an individual in the Silver League, and she only went and won the show jumping. We are extremely proud to have been named SRNC of the year, because we’re grateful for the recognition of the hard work and time that goes in to organising it, and we’d like to thank all the owners who so generously lent us their horses.”