Michael Murphy

Age: 24

Horse: Cleverboy (Vivaldi x Kennedy)

Owner: Michael Murphy, Bronte Watson, Elder Klatzko, Sue Murphy, John Murphy

Grade: I

Form: Michael took over the ride on the lovely 14-year-old gelding, who was previously ridden up to CDI3* Grand Prix level by British dressage rider Bronte Watson, at the end of 2020 and from five FEI tests, they have never been outside the top two. On their last outing at Hartpury, Murphy landed a hat-trick and won the Freestyle was a huge margin of 13 points when scoring 82.22%. Michael is the highest ranked Irish para dressage rider at 19th in the world and eighth in the Grade I rankings.

Competing at his first Paralympics, Michael began riding at the age of four after he was born with a rare progressive disorder called Dejerine-Sottas. At the age of 14, he became the youngest para rider to win a two-star. Based in London where he works as an enviromental advisor for a construction company, he switched to ride for Ireland in April 2018.

Kate Kerr-Horan

Age: 28

Horse: Serafina T (Rossgold Sunstar x Lungau)

Owner: Broomfield Farm

Grade: III

Form: Kate has plenty of experience under her belt, having competed at four Championships in the past with Arlande (Europeans 2013, 2015 and 2017, and WEG 2014). She began campaigning the 10-year-old mare Serafina T, who she describes as a “a proper dressage horse”, at FEI level in 2018 with great success. Among their top results is second at Keysoe three-star behind London 2012 and Rio 2016 Paralympic champion Natasha Barker and her Tokyo partner Keystone Dawn Chorus.

Despite a kick from a horse when she was three, which left her with paralysis of the left side of her body, Kate and her mum Pam run Broomfield Equestrian Centre in Co Wicklow, managing about 20 horses, and she has a degree in Equine Business from Maynooth University.

Rosemary Gaffney

Age: 63

Horse: Werona (Painted Black x Lauries Crusador xx)

Owner: Rosemary Gaffney and Sue Smallman

Grade: IV

Form: The self-confessed ‘bridesmaid’ of the past two Paralympic Games as the reserve rider, Rosemary will finally make her debut in Tokyo. Having been to three European Championships, and one with her Tokyo mount, she is another with plenty of experience. She began competing the 12-year-old Werona at FEI level in 2019 and later that season they were selected for the FEI European Championships in Rotterdam, where they finished 11th individually. The scores have consistently crept up since then and the pair won a strong Freestyle at Keysoe in late 2019 on a score on 74.22%.

Gaffney, who started out as an able-bodied rider before suffering two horrific horse falls some years apart, juggles her para dressage career with running the equine department at Kildalton College, which has up to 80 students.

Tamsin Addison

Age: 48

Horse: Fahrenheit (Fuerst Romancier)

Owner: Tamsin Addison

Grade: V

Form: Tamsin has two horses up to this level, including Donna Siesta, on who she made her championship debut with at the 2019 FEI Europeans in Rotterdam. However, she has chosen to travel with the 10-year-old gelding Fahrenheit who has impressed on both the national and international circuit in Britain this year. The pair won an international three-star event at Keysoe in 2019 and have good experience flying having competed at Doha earlier that season.

A former marketing director with Virgin Media, Tamsin began her life with horses in eventing before switching to para dressage. After battling with bone cancer at the age of 21, she became the first person in the world to regrow the bone in her upper arm.

A qualified sports psychologist, she now runs a yard with close to 30 horses in North London.

Chef d’equipe: Debora Pijpers

Debora Pijpers has extensive experience as a Dutch dressage rider and coach and previously spent seven years at Dressuurstal Van Baalen – the stable of Dutch Olympians Coby and Marlies van Baalen, as a manager, rider and coach.

As a rider, Debora has competed four horses up to Grand Prix U25 level and was a member of the Dutch team that won the gold medal at the 2013 European Championships for Young Riders in Compiègne and has been a member of the Dutch Young Rider A-squad for three years.

As a coach, Debora has guided several national and international youth and para dressage riders to success. Debora coached Grade III rider Demi Vermeulen to a bronze individual freestyle medal and a silver team medal at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy (FRA).