TIPPERARY show jumper Darragh Ryan had returned home to Thurles to set up his own competition and training yard at Tipperary Equestrian Centre, where his parents, Tomás and Fiona run a successful show centre.

The 23-year-old, who is a graduate of the prestigious Rolex Young Rider Academy, spent a number of years riding for his Thurles neighbour Greg Broderick at Ballypatrick Stables before moving to Cian O’Connor’s Karlswood Stables and he spent the last year producing young horses in Belgium.

Speaking to The Irish Field this week, he said he was excited to be home and looking forward to getting up and running. “I came back for a week or two about two months ago and it escalated into this. I was working with Darragh McCarthy, we sold two horses to America so it worked out well.

“Mam and Dad have done a great job here at home with the facilities., they have always been very supporive to me and have built the place up from scratch. We have an indoor and two outdoor arenas – a big one for the shows and a big warm-up too. All three arenas have Equestrian Surfaces in them. We have ploughed and reseeded one of the front fields so that will make a nice grass arena next year,” he said.

Darragh has a barn of 16 stables to start with. “I have one horse coming back from Belgium – Bitcoin; Darragh and Oliver McCarthy own him. Other than that, I am mainly going to start fresh. I am looking forward to getting back to shows in Ireland and meeting and working with new clients.

“It’s exciting I suppose. I was very lucky to be riding in Ballypatrick with Greg and then nearly a year with Cian – not too many people have been riding for two Olympians. Being in Belgium for the last year opened up my eyes to the business side of things.”

Darragh is hitting the ground running with a new sponsor in Equipe Saddle, who will sponsor his riding tack.