Hadley is our December Star
SVEN Hadley is our Irish Field/Gain Equine Nutrition Star of the Month for December. One of the most consistent riders on the national show jumping circuit, he dominated the Gain Alltech 1.20m class at Emerald’s two-day Autumn Grand Prix Show, winning with Make It Easy HSH. Hadley went on to finish runner-up in the Circulo 1.30m class, when coming home in 58.23 riding Quantino. Hadley also scored a one-two in the Allenkey Fittings 1.20m class riding Make It Easy HSH.
At Cavan a week later, Hadley guided Maximum Numero Too HSH to win the €3,000 DAFM HSI Development Series for seven-year-olds. Congratulations Sven!
Death of Mary Rose Hayes
MARY Rose Hayes (née Robinson) of Greenside, The Curragh and Kilcock, Co Kildare, died peacefully on January 28th surrounded by her family. Mary Rose is the beloved wife of the late Seamus. Predeceased by her parents, George and Maeve Robinson, her brothers Jack, Willie and Brian. Dear mother of William and Sheila (Condell), sister of Teresa (O’Hanlon). Sadly missed by her loving grandchildren Niamh, Róisín, Tara, Liam and Áine, daughter-in-law Fiona, son-in-law Declan, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Mary Rose’s father, George Robinson, trained racehorses at Pheopotsown House, where Mary Rose and her brother Willie rode together from a young age. Unfortunately, at that time, ladies were not allowed to ride under rules, so she rode in point-to-points instead. She was immensely proud to ride show jumping for Ireland, alongside her husband, the legendary Seamus Hayes. Green River was one of her favourite horses, who famously ran in Leopardstown on the August bank holiday and show jumped in the RDS the following week.
According to a post from Showjumping Ireland: “Mary Rose had a great feel for the horse. She knew when they were fit enough and how to allow them to reach their full potential, including teaching young horses how to jump. Mary Rose was also very successful in breeding many blacktype horses from her mother Maeve Robinson’s line, which is still going strong today. She was very proud of her grandchildren’s many achievements in and out of the saddle. She will be fondly remembered as a fiercely independent horse woman, one of the best of her generation.”
Millstreet event gains traction
NATIONS from across the world have declared interest in sending teams to Millstreet this summer, for the inaugural FEI World Eventing Championships U25. The event, which will take place from July 23rd-26th as a CCI4*-S, will run over a new Mike Etherington-Smith designed cross-country course on the grounds of Drishane Castle. Each country will be permitted to field a team of four and two individuals, and further CCI-L and CCI-S classes will run alongside the championship.
Event director Thomas Duggan said: “This is a great initiative, which should showcase some of the world’s most exciting and talented young riders, and should be of great benefit as a stepping stone in helping them upgrade to contention for a senior championship.”
RIP John McGuiness
JOHN McGuiness of Ballinree, Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, died peacefully after a short illness recently, and will be sadly missed by his wife Marie, daughters Carole and Anne, son Alan and extended family. A spokesman for the Longford Harriers made the following tribute to the hunting man:
“John was a constant with the Longford Harriers for as long as we can remember. His devotion, loyalty and unwavering support for the hunt was truly inspirational and will never be forgotten. He gave so much of himself to the country, the hounds and the people who shared his passion.”
Dane Rawlins to lead Australia into LA28
IRISH international Grand Prix dressage rider Dane Rawlins has been appointed Chef d’Equipe and Technical Lead to Equestrian Australia up to the next Olympics, LA28. Rawlins has previously acted as Chef for various British teams, as well as being a List I judge and former organiser of the CDI5* at Hickstead. Equestrian Australia said “this experience positions him well to support Australian combinations as preparations continue towards LA28.”
New rule for stallions
APPLICATIONS are now open for the 2026 Horse Sport Ireland stallion selections, which will take place at Cavan Equestrian Centre on March 26th and 27th. Owners of foreign-bred stallions planning to compete in the DAFM Studbook Series and RDS qualifiers are required to have their stallions inspected and passed by a DAFM-approved studbook. From this year onward, Irish-bred stallions aimed both at competing at the WBFSH young horse championships at Lanaken and the ISH studbook inspection process will be required to have passed Stage 1 at a minimum. According to HSI, this was announced as rule 2.8 of the 2025 Lanaken selection policy. Full details on this policy and on the 2026 stallion selection procedures and guidelines can be found at www.horsesportireland.ie.