Corporal Lynda Treacy

“I joined the equitation school in 1998 and qualified later that year. I began working for Gerry Flynn, while he was still at the beginning of his career, a position I had held for eight years.

“During those years, we had enjoyed plenty of international successes, both as an individual as well as a team competitor, one of the highlights of which was winning the 2007 Dublin Grand Prix with Mo Chroí.

“In 2008, Gerry decided he was retiring from competition and I didn’t want to go back to the beginning again with a junior rider, so I moved to working in the office. I had been travelling internationally with the horses for many years and, although I knew I had spent enough time away from home, I still found it hard to settle in the office.

“In 2009, I was able to go and study for the Green Cert in Kildalton Agricultural College and did the advanced certificate in stud management.

“In 2012, an opportunity came up in the Air Corps, so I decided to give it a go. I did a level six leadership programme and qualified as a corporal, and then I went to the helicopter section.

“The air ambulance programme had just been launched in Athlone and I joined the office staff there. I stayed for 10 years doing various admin duties.

“In 2021, I did the physical trainers’ instructor’s course, in conjunction with the University of Limerick, which qualifies you to work in a gym or be a personal trainer. I earned a certificate in exercise and health fitness, I’m currently the only female PTI in Baldonnel, so I help with fitness testing recruits, apprentices and do circuit and pilates classes.

“Two years ago, I moved once again to the Personal Support Services section, which offers support to all members of the Air Corps with home or work difficulties. It deals with issues such as bereavement, addiction, grief and suicide awareness. I did a level six course in Mental Health first aid, which trains you in counselling and psychotherapy.

“Last year, I did an advanced Critical Incident Stress Management course, and this year I am doing a BA in Employee support and wellbeing. All of these courses I did through the army.

The beginning

“In the beginning, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do when it came time to get a job. I had a background in horses; I grew up in Tallaght, but my father is from Galway, so I spent all my summers there and always rode.

“I went to Grainne Sugars in Calliaghstown and did my BHS level one and two and my AI, and then I did a year of Equine Studies in Dundrum College.

“I heard about the equitation school and the idea of joining as a groom appealed to me. I joined up and did the Advanced Grooms’ course. Once I began going to shows with the team, sure that was the best education you could get.

“I haven’t completely left horses behind. I have a lot of friends still involved and I have an eight-year-old daughter, who rides and does a couple of pony camps a year. We are friends with Geoff (Curran) and his family and will often go there and ride out.

Commdt Sharon Crean, Gerry Flynn and Commdt Geoff curran at the Dublin Horse Show 2023 \ Laurence Dunne jumpinaction.net

Incredible Service

“I think the Air Ambulance is an incredible service. During Covid, I moved back to my family home in Portumna and while there got to see first hand just how the air ambulance operates.

“I saw several tragedies unfold; a car accident, which involved friends of my parents, a suicide of a young child and a young lad who had a seizure, who, if it wasn’t for them being there on time, the outcome would have been so much worse. These three incidents during Covid let me see just how much of a toll it takes on the guys who work on the ambulance and inspired me to go into Critical Incident care.

“We work closely with the coast guard and they would sometimes request backup from the defence forces. In the case of the tragic accident involving Henry de Bromhead’s son Jack, a team from the defence forces would have been sent out to visit with the kids that were at that race and help them deal with the trauma.

“They would get the kids together for a meeting in RACE and talk to them about their feelings and help them find coping mechanisms.

“We have a counselling service within the Defence Forces called Inspire and everyone in the forces has access to it.

“You can move sideways throughout the Army, the Air Corps and the Navy. I’m over my 21 years now (retirement age) and everything I’m trained up in is through the army. I’ll probably stay on until 31 years and, even at that stage, I’ll still be young enough to take what I have learned to work elsewhere if I want to.

“I would never have guessed when I joined as a groom, where it would take me.”

Paddy Gately

“When I joined in 1988, you had to go to the infantry for 10 years. During that time, I did two trips to the Lebanon and did Portlaoise duties; which is cash escorts, prisoner escorts, all sorts. At that time you had to soldier before they would put you in a specialised unit.

“I worked for John Ox for three years before I joined the army, so with that background in horses, I chose the Equitation School as my specialised unit and was sent to the Curragh.

“I was born and reared in Kildare town. I’ve been involved in horses since before I could walk.

“When I got to McKee, it was so different to anything I had worked with before. I was used to flat and jump racing, but had no experience in show jumping or dressage.

“It was a totally different world altogether. I found the groom’s course unbelievable; I was thinking at the start, sure why am I doing this course? I know everything about horses… but my God I didn’t.

“I didn’t know anything about so much of the sport horse stuff. All of a sudden, I was involved in dressage, eventing and show jumping.

“After I had completed the groom’s course and then went to be based in the Curragh. That’s where all the retired show jumpers and eventers are.

“Down there, we had about 10 to 12 horses at the time and we used them for racecourse duties; escorting the winners of the derbies and the classics, the Guineas and the Ledger, all of that. For the Punchestown festival, we would do the five days with all the grade one winners.

“I also used to groom for Geoff Curran with his event horses when he was competing them. He would bring them to the Curragh for fitness training and I used to ride out with him.

“He used to come once a week, and then in the winter, he would be based there for six weeks working on their fitness.

“In 2012 we went to Ballindenisk and the like trying to get the horse qualified for the Olympics and I travelled with him to those competitions.

“I consider myself very lucky, I got to do so many different things. One of my highlights was in 2012, I got to go to the London Paralympics and we finished third in the world. We got a team bronze medal, it was the first time that had ever happened.

“I was working with a girl named Eilish Byrne and her horse, Youri. In the run up to the Games, we got to go to France and Belgium for qualifiers, and then to go to London, which was brilliant.

Olympic bronze medalist Cian O'Connor with the Irish Paralympic Equestrian team who won bronze in the 2012 team event, from left, Helen Kearney, Eilish Byrne, Geraldine Savage and James Dwyer \ Pat Murphy /Sportsfile

International Stable Manager

“I’m an international stable manager for Eventing Ireland and for the Dublin Horse Show, I’ve been doing that for the past 19 years. I started doing that when I was in the army.

“I do lots of the events; Balmoral, Lisgarvan, Ballindenisk, all those places. When they hear you are from the army, they jump at the chance to give you the job, it really stands to you. You are so well trained.

“I was always doing security in the likes of Leopardstown racecourse, and the Curragh and Fairyhouse, all those places.

“When I first left the army, I went working for my cousin, Johnny Levins; he trains on the Curragh. I stayed there for about a year and then I was offered a job as a foal man in Ballyshannon Stud.

“James (Hughes) then offered me a job prepping foals and yearlings for sales and I spent a further three years there.

“Last year, I was offered a job to go to Troytown veterinary care. My job is yard man maintenance and horse care assistant. You could see me trotting horses up for the vet, loading horses for travel, cutting the hedges, all sorts.

“The job in Troytown is so varied. Every day is something different. I’m learning something new all the time.

“I would recommend anyone to join the equitation school. You get wonderful opportunities to learn and travel. It can open up so many things.

“I was in the army for 28 years. I left seven years ago. The training I got there has led me down so many different paths and allowed me to learn so many different things. I’m still learning in Troytown today and enjoying it.”

Former Irish Army Equitation School groom Tommy Harte

Tommy Harte

“We always had horses growing up at home in Youghal, Co Cork. My first job was grooming for Denis Coakley, I stayed there for three years. I then decided I wanted to travel the world, and decided the army was the best opportunity for me to do that. If I joined up and got a good position there, I felt that was the place that would allow me to do it.

“I loved the training. It’s very disciplined and very educational. When I passed out my grooming course, Wayne Sherry was Captain Shane Carey’s groom at the time, he was leaving, so I got that spot.

“Shane was doing international shows at that stage, so I got to travel straight away, which had been my ambition, I stayed for five years.

“During that time, myself and another army groom, Lynda Tracey, got the chance to travel to the States and work for Candice King for a winter.

“At the end of that season, I was offered a full-time job with Candice, so I came back and finished out my five year contract and then headed back there full-time.

“That was in 2006 and I’ve been here ever since.

“I worked for Candice for three years, mainly doing her sales horses. I then went to work for Ken Berkley and Scott Stewart doing hunters. I was a work rider and I managed their grooms. I stayed there for five years.

“After that, I got married to my wife Amber Mitchell Harte and we decided to set up a business together.

“Our yard is called Brass Ring Farm and we do everything; hunters and jumpers and Equitation.

“We’re based in Pittstown, New Jersey in the summer and in Florida in the winter. We normally have about 40 horses in, we both ride, but Amber is the main competition rider.

“There are several army graduates here in America, Jimmy Doyle, David O’Brien and David Power, who are all greatly respected here. I would recommend that anyone who is considering joining up to do so. You won’t regret it.”