EVENTING Ireland officially launched the 2026 Irish Eventing Season with a special evening at Barberstown Castle, Co Kildare last Saturday, bringing together riders, owners, breeders and new High Performance manager Sam Griffiths.

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Ed and Siobhan Donohoe congratulate Padraig and Lucy McCarthy on the success of Pomp N Circumstance, at the launch of the 2026 Eventing Ireland season at Barberstown Castle \ Justin Black Horse Sport Images

Supported by Red Mills, the event also served as a celebration of Ireland’s recent success on the European stage with presentations made to the European Championship silver medal team riders Aoife Clark, Ian Cassells, Robbie Kearns and Padraig McCarthy. Horse Sport Ireland and The Irish Horse Board also presented commemorative plaques and trophies to the breeders of the team horses.

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Irish Horse Board director general Alison Corbally presents a breeders recognition award to Eric and Judith McClelland, breeders of Black Ice, at the launch of the 2026 Eventing Ireland season at Barberstown Castle \ Justin Black Horse Sport Images

The idea for the event was initiated by owner Annette O’Callaghan, who said the evening was about recognising not just success, but the people and community behind it.

“One of the things I love most about eventing is just how wonderful the sport is - there is such goodwill, dedication and support right across the country, from volunteers to owners and supporters,” she said.

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Nadia Rea, Annette O'Callaghan, Jane Davis and Alison Corbally at the launch of the 2026 Eventing Ireland season at Barberstown Castle \ Justin Black Horse Sport Images

Attendees were treated to valuable mindset and teamwork insights from the riders, as well as hearing from Sam Griffiths who explained what drew him to the role.

“I love coaching and I really enjoy helping people,” he said. “Ireland has such a strong reputation as a great horse nation, and they showed that, with European Championships silver, they can be really competitive. I was just really keen to get involved. I’ve had other experiences and being involved with the New Zealand eventing team, and so I’m hoping I can bring some of what I’ve learned there and bring it here. I’m immensely proud to be involved and very honoured.

“I always try and approach my role from the rider’s perspective, having been a rider for a long time. I always sort of knew what worked well for a rider and what didn’t, and so I just try and stick to those rules and make it as easy as I can for the riders, but still challenging, and try to get the best out of them and the best out of their horses.

“(With regard to the World Equestrian Games in Aachen) the main goal is to qualify for the Olympics, but I’d also like to be a bit more ambitious. We’ve proven we can battle it out for medals at the European Championships, and so there’s no reason why we can’t be battling it out for the medals at the World Championships.” And what about that Olympic medal? “Yeah, that’d be nice,” he said.

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Irish Horse Board director general Alison Corbally and breeders recognition award recipient Sean O'Loughlin, breeder of Millridge Atlantis, at the launch of the 2026 Eventing Ireland season at Barberstown Castle \ Justin Black Horse Sport Images