PARALYMPIAN Rosemary Gaffney is back on her feet and in the saddle, only four months after open heart surgery. Surgeon Niamh Keenan and her team at the Mater in Cork performed a triple bypass and mitral valve repair on the international rider last September, and they told her she could return to riding 12 weeks after the procedure.

“To the hour, I was back,” said Gaffney, who is no stranger to recovery and rehabilitation, having fought back from serious injury to opposite legs in 2007 and 2014 and is attending cardiac rehab three days a week in Clonmel.

“Recovery is going really well,” she continued, “but it has taken time to get back on my feet. I am riding my beautiful eight-year-old mare Norabel, who’s by Just Whimphof. I was very lucky that Sue Smallman kept her for me while I was in hospital and recovering, so she is good to go, even if I am not quite 100% fit.

“I hope to attend my first show of 2026 in Ballindenisk at the end of the month. We’ll see how we get on, but the plan is to then attend Hartpury in March.” Hartpury CDI and CPEDI is scheduled to run from March 30th to April 3rd, and will replace the international which was due to be held at Addington earlier in March.

Ballindenisk will also be the first show of 2026 to be held by the South Munster Region of Dressage Ireland, who held their AGM last week. This show will be the third of six legs of their O’Brien’s Saddlery league, the final of which will be held at Maryville on July 5th.