ON the final afternoon of the Gallagher Dublin Horse Show, the stands in the EOS IT Solutions Arena were full as four young riders battled it out for the coveted Dublin Horse Show Young Rider bursary prize. The four were selected from the young rider show jumping classes earlier in the week.

Claiming the two-week bursary prize and the Iris Kellett Perpetual Challenge Trophy was Lauren Adams (Caddie Z). She was joined in the final line-up by Marta Hughes Bravo (HHS Figero), James Derwin (Amos L Z) and Sarah Fitzgerald (Oh So Special Ce) and all four were out to impress Danish horseman Bo Kristoffersen.

Kristoffersen has guided several nations as a coach and he has worked closely with some of the sport’s leading athletes. In 2025, he joined Enda Carroll’s Ashford Farm as a coach for their training programme.

The four riders all have impressive records from 128cm level up to Grand Prix level. Lauren Adams is from Gorey in Wexford and has competed at the RDS every year since the age of 11. She has represented Ireland on international teams in pony and young riders and this year she placed fourth in the ranking class at Mullingar CSI 2*.

Sarah Fitzgerald, who is from Limerick, is in her final year studies in food science. She also played under 18 international hockey. She was part of the team that took the silver medal in Children on Horses.

Marta Hughes Bravo hails from Kilkenny and comes from a family of horse people, with her parents Marion Hughes and Miguel Bravo both international show jumpers. Along with her siblings, she has competed in all levels at the RDS. She also has a strong international record.

James Derwin (17) is from Athlone. He has just completed his leaving cert. He has competed in the RDS every year since the age of nine. In 2022, he was the youngest-ever athlete to win double gold at the European Championships with Rincoola Babog. He competed at the Pony European Championships in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

For the second round, Lauren Adams swapped horses with Marta Hughes Bravo, while James and Sarah swapped horses.

Speaking ahead of the competition, Bo Kristoffersen said that he was so impressed with the Irish young riders. “When you come to Dublin Horse Show, you can see where these talented young riders are coming from. These young riders get great education in Ireland. Irish riders are known all over the world for their talents. I was looking for balance and rhythm and how they could adapt in the second round when changing horses.”

For Kristoffersen, he said that they all rode their horses extremely well in the first round and that he felt that the second round would decide the winner. In the end, he had to return to his notes from the first round, as in the second round, there was little separating the talents of the riders as they all rode different horses so well.