AS three Dressage Ireland shows were covered in this page last Saturday, there was no space for our series on members of Horse Sport Ireland’s youth dressage High Performance squads which we continue this week, focussing on two Young Riders, Lily Kelly and Emily Kate Robinson.

The former, who grew up between Donegal and Dublin, is now based in Gloucestershire where she is in First Year studying Equestrian Sports Science at Hartpury University. “I have a lot of interest in sports psychology and sport performance,” Kelly told The Irish Field, “and I’m lucky that I’m able to learn more about these areas at University whilst continuing to ride full-time.

“My family are not the most horsey but are all very supportive and encouraging. My mum, Anita, has helped me immensely by taking me to training and competitions over the years.

“I began riding at a local riding school in Donegal when I was four and, over the years, I’ve done a mixture of everything. While in secondary school, I had two lovely Connemara ponies, Blackwoodland Quince and Derrivane Boy, with whom I did mainly showing and dressage. I took part in the Dublin Horse Show, Clifden, the Northern Ireland Festival and Irish Pony Society shows.

“I competed at my first Dressage Ireland show in 2017 at Marlton Stud and have been to two DI national championships. I competed in the DI trailblazer section the first year it was launched and I think it was a great idea as it gave me a lot of confidence when I was younger and encouraged me to continue taking part in dressage.”

Horsepower

Lily told us a bit about the horses she rides in England, the former Junior event horse Garrybritt Bonny, a 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare by Ramiro B, and the year younger Dutch Warmblood stallion Bandreo (by Sandreo), aka Chippy, with whom she has been listed on the high-performance squad.

“I’ve had Bonny over a year now. My trainer at the time, Sean Burgess, found her for me and she was just perfect as she has the sweetest temperament. She is the first horse that taught me the movements above Novice level. I’m currently competing at Advanced Medium with her and we have qualified for the Petplan regional finals. We purchased my other horse, Bandreo, from my present trainer, Sara Gallop, in October. Last Sunday we did our first competition together, scoring 72.21% in the Advanced class. My short-term goals are to get out and achieve good scores at Prix St George and to go to Premier League and high-profile shows. Long-term, I would love to represent my country at international level.

“Sara has really helped me in the last eight months. She has been a great mentor; I look up to her and will base myself with her for the foreseeable future as I have the opportunity to ride and train lots of different horses here at Prestige Equestrian. I’ve also been lucky enough to have some training sessions with Charlotte Dujardin on both of my horses as she comes here regularly to train Sara.

“The HSI set-up is very supportive. Even though I’m unable to attend team training at home, they still provide a lot of support and education through their online meetings. Anne Marie Dunphy is very approachable and encouraging and I’m in regular contact with her.”