IT has been a phenomenal year for Ireland’s junior riders, who secured both gold and silver medals at the European Championships. Their momentum heading into the event was equally impressive, marked by numerous podium finishes. It was no surprise, then, that Ireland’s juniors were the hot favourites going into the Championships. On home soil, they continued to deliver the results in their own divisions and amongst senior riders.
The standout moment among the junior achievements had to be Ireland’s brilliant one-two finish at the FEI Junior Jumping Championship in Riesenbeck. Kilkenny’s Emily Moloney and Temple Alice (ISH) captured gold, while Wicklow’s Tabitha Kyle guided BP Goodfellas to silver medal position. During a thrilling afternoon of jumping, four Irish combinations earned their spots in the final, adding to the momentum of their team gold earlier in the week.
Ireland went into the final day of jumping in a strong position, with Kilkenny’s Emily Moloney and the Susan McDonald-bred Temple Alice (ISH) in the silver medal position, less than two penalties adrift of the gold medal spot. Tabitha Kyle and the Kevin Babington-bred BP Goodfellas (ISH) were in eighth position, while Alice Wachman and Killarney lay in 10th place. The pressure could be felt as just one fence separated the top 10 riders in a very tight leaderboard.
Sligo’s Paddy Reape and Mr Rocky Blue (ISH) were first into the arena, beginning on 6.25 faults. Unfortunately, two knocked poles added to their tally, leaving them on 14.25 and bringing their campaign to an end in 25th place.
Tipperary’s Alice Wachman and Killarney were the next Irish combination, entering with 4.33 faults. A single pole down moved them to 8.33, securing an 11th-place overall finish.
Kyle and BP Goodfellas (ISH) were Ireland’s penultimate combination to jump, and she kept herself firmly in contention with a superb clear round, holding her score at 3.27 and securing fifth place heading into the final phase. She strengthened her medal prospects with another faultless performance and then faced an anxious wait as the last five combinations took to the arena, having done everything possible to stay in the hunt for honours. As those remaining riders faltered, Kyle steadily rose up the leaderboard, ultimately claiming an incredible silver medal.
Moloney was Ireland’s final rider and had sat in the silver medal position overnight with Temple Alice (ISH) on a score of 1.47. Two clear rounds from the Kilkenny athlete put the pressure on Swiss rider Laura Andre, who was in the lead heading into the final round. The Swiss athlete would lower two fences in the final round and that left Moloney as the new European individual champion.
Team Gold
Ireland’s eyes were smiling as the Junior team of Paddy Reape (Mr Rocky Blue (ISH), Tabitha Kyle (BP Goodfellas (ISH)), Alice Wachman (Killarney) and Emily Moloney (Temple Alice (ISH)), along with reserve rider Jack Kent, moved into gold medal position following a flawless display in Germany on the Wednesday of competition. The team went on to produce another foot-perfect display in Thursday’s medal decider, with three clear rounds keeping them on a score of 6.99 to secure the European team gold medal.
First to jump, Reape and Mr Rocky Blue faulted at the wall. Reape kept his composure under pressure, however, and came home with nothing else to add, which would keep Ireland in the lead regardless.
Next into the arena, Kyle and BP Goodfellas maintained their good form, delivering a flawless round of jumping. It meant that a clear round from Wachman would secure the gold medal for Ireland, with closest rivals the Netherlands more than a fence behind.
Cool as ice, Wachman and Killarney were foot-perfect, delivering the all-important clear.
Moloney, Ireland’s anchor, was stress-free from a team perspective and she put seal on the victory and kept herself in the silver medal position with yet another clear round. The Netherlands finished in second place on a score of 12.79, with Belgium finishing third on 20.60.
Hagen Nations Cup
A fantastic performance from the Irish U18 (Junior) team of Jack Kent (Indiana Jones), Alice Wachman (Killarney), Annie Boland (Calisto Blanc) and Tabitha Kyle (BP Goodfellas (ISH)) saw them take victory in the Nations Cup at Hagen. Ireland finished on a two-round total of just four faults, which saw them finish one fault ahead of the home team from Germany, while Belgium finished third.
Clear rounds from Wachman on Killarney, Boland with Calisto Blanc and Kyle on BP Goodfellas, put Ireland in a strong position at the half-way point of the competition. It was still all to play for, however, as they only had a time fault in hand on the Germans, and Belgium were still in contention on five faults.
The demands of the course were evident in how few riders managed faultless rounds, with other nations such as Britain, the Netherlands and Spain also feeling the pressure. Of the 45 rounds completed, only 17 were clear - and five of those belonged to the Irish. Wachman and Boland maintained clean sheets in both rounds and Kent rebounded from a disappointing opening effort with Indiana Jones, to have just one rail down when getting the Irish effort under way in the second half.
When Wachman delivered a faultless round, four faults by Fabio Thielen and Lennard Tillmann meant that the best Germany could do was five and one more clear would secure the honours for the Irish.
Boland made certain that Kyle and her eight-year-old gelding were not called upon, as the pony-jumping graduate delivered a composed performance on her 11-year-old, who produced a flawless round to secure the top spot on the podium.
Zuidwolde
The Irish Junior team put in a great performance at Zuidwolde, to secure third place in what was a nail-biting competition. Clear rounds by Abbie Oakey, with Moningo-D van’t Heyveld, and Alice Wachman, with Killarney, placed them right in contention with just four faults in a very competitive class that saw just once fence separate the top six.
The British team left no room for anyone else, finishing on zero faults, while Sweden followed in second on a total of four after a single error.
For Ireland, Oakey delivered a superb double clear, and anchor Lauren Adams showed remarkable resolve, rebounding from a first-round elimination to secure third with a high-pressure clear on Quina Dw. Paddy Reape provided steady reliability with two rounds of four on his Irish Sport Horse Mr Rocky Blue, and the overall standard was highlighted once again by the fact that Wachman’s single jumping error could be dropped as the discard score.
Lier
Ireland’s youth show jumpers added to their impressive record, taking Junior team silver in the Nations Cup Series Final in Lier, Belgium, along with superb individual victories from Junior European Champion Emily Moloney.
The Junior team of Moloney, Abbie Oakey, Annie Boland, James Derwin and Isabel O’Brien delivered three immaculate rounds to finish on a perfect zero score, matching Sweden in an exceptionally competitive contest. With the two sides still inseparable, the title was settled in a team jump-off, where the Irish were narrowly edged out by the Swedes, while the USA claimed third among the top 12 teams in the series.
CSI Youth Opglabbeek
To cap off an outstanding season, European Champion Emily Moloney, riding Tick A Lu, claimed victory in the CSI-J-A 1.40m Grand Prix at Sentower Park CSI Youth, emerging on top of a field of 51 starters. Moloney also won the junior small tour 1.25m speed class with Cruising on the Ridge, followed by Robbie Sheehan on Fubalia in third and Isabel Boland with MBF Maxwill in sixth.
In the 1.35m junior big tour, Chloe Hughes Kennedy and Starouge finished third, while Moloney on Tick A Lu placed fourth, and Alanna Fagan with Billy Hastings secured sixth. Fagan and Billy Hastings placed sixth in the 1.35m big tour, followed by Chloe Hughes Kennedy on Starouge and then Launa McCann on Sambuca. Moloney added to her record, when she partnered Cruising on the Ridge to third in the junior 1.25m tour two-phase special class.
In the under-25 big tour, Jill Green took third place, with Billy Sinnott and MacGyver securing seventh.
Ireland also put in an impressive performance in the Children on Horses division, which saw Susan Brannigan take second with Imagine d’Argent and Oscar Hand on Ldec Solo in sixth in the 1.15m small tour speed class. Brannigan went on to take the win in the Children on Horses 1.15m speed class aboard Imagine d’Argent, followed by Gavin Doyle on Helsinki 8 in fifth and James Walsh and Currency in eighth place. Later on, at the show, Walsh went on to take the win in the 1.15m two-phase special.
Children on Horses
In Sentower, Opglabbeek, Belgium, the Irish U14 (Children On Horses) show jumping team narrowly missed out on victory after a three-way jump-off. The Irish quartet of Honor Bills-Everett (Godiva Quality), Elsie Tunney (Flexible Flight), Georgia de Bromhead and Lucia Keane (Elia) finished level on four faults with Britain and the Netherlands after the first two rounds. Britain went on to take victory in the jump-off, ahead of the Dutch in second and Ireland in third.
Dublin Horse Show
On the penultimate day of the Dublin Horse Show, the stands were full for the Children on Horses Championship, which saw four teams compete for the title in Nations Cup format. Claiming the victory was Tommy Gibbons’ team of Ella Rush (Beach Buggy), Joe Widger (Jerenice Dysenbeeck Z), Jack Dore (Hermies Vh Bergerhof Z) and Millie Jeffers (Glidawn Gigi). The quartet clinched victory with a flawless performance, finishing on a zero-fault score. The Blue team, consisting of Honor Bills-Everett (Godiva Quality), Edward Walsh (Diamante), Yelena O’Keeffe (Kilfarissey Krystal) and James Ryan (Ballygerald De Reve) took the runner-up spot when they finished on four faults. This team started off strongly, as they finished on zero faults in the first round. In the second round, Bills-Everett and James Ryan maintained clean sheets, while Walsh had a pole on the ground. The Red team managed by Nicola Fitzgibbon took third place, when they finished on 17 faults. This team was made up of Ryan Horgan (Ajaccienne), Alice Hartford (Kilderrys Joint Venture), Oscar H (Ldec Solo) and Chantal Whithead (Mhs Cuffesgrange). On this team, both Horgan and Hartford delivered clear rounds on both occasions. Taking fourth place was Comdt Sharon Crean’s team on 32 faults. This team consisted of Lucia Keane (Elia), Zac Hanna (Marylynn Tn), Ellie Sheane (Cooley Limited Edition) and James Walsh (Currency).
Children on Horse’s Individual Championship Dublin
The Children on Horses National Championship took place on Sunday afternoon at the Dublin Horse Show, drawing a full-capacity crowd in the stands. Taking the 2025 title was Cork’s Millie Jeffers and Glidawn Gigi. A total of 15 went to post and, with a high standard in the class, nine earned their place in the timed round. First to go, Jack Dore and Hermies Vh Bergerhof Z set the bar high with a series of tight turns. In particular, Dore was very tight back to 11A-B and crossed the line clear in 30.97 to take the lead and later third place. Next to go aboard Elia, Lucia Keane didn’t hold back, and she shaved seconds off the target. Excitement mounted, as next in Millie Jeffers took every tight line and, cheered on by the crowd, she crossed the line with Glidawn Gigi, with nothing to add to take the win, leaving Keane to take the reserve title. James Walsh and Currency put in a gallant attempt, to take fourth place, ahead of Edward Walsh Jnr and Diamante, who had a pole on the ground. Ella Rush and Beach Buggy’s performance saw them take sixth place.
Children on Horses Champion
At the Young Rider Championships, Charlotte Butler and Kingston King claimed the Children on Horses title. The pairing placed second in the 1.10m Welcome Stakes and second in the 1.10m Championship.