ON a hot and sunny February day at the spectacular Al Shaqab complex in Doha, Qatar, Katie Reilly and Keystone Dawn Chorus made their international debut as a combination. It would be the start of a memorable year for the British-based Ticknevin, County Kildare, native and the former Natasha Baker Olympic medal-winning 14-year-old Hanoverian mare, as they completed CHI Doha with a podium finish in third on 71.956% in the Para Grand Prix Freestyle Grade III class.

In 2024, the then 16-year-old para-dressage rider Katie Reilly would travel to the Paralympic Games in Paris, having been selected among a group of five Paralympic athletes from five different sports with legendary four-time Paralympic champion, Michael McKillop as a mentor.

Katie was selected to aid her development as part of Paralympics Ireland’s Futures Programme, which is designed to foster the development of athletes with strong potential to represent Team Ireland at the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, having represented Ireland at the 2023 European Championships in Germany with Impulz Z. She delivered on that potential scoring five international wins this year at the CPEDI3* shows in Wellington Heckfield and Hartpury in Great Britain, including an international personal best score of 75.194% in the Para Grand Prix Freestyle III at Hartpury in July.

Podium places

In a hugely impressive performance by the Irish team, Katie led the way as they took all three podium places in all three Grade III international para classes at Hartpury. Katie completed a hat-trick winning Grade III sequence of Para Grand Prix A, Para Grand Prix B and Para Grand Prix Freestyle classes.

The consistent combination of Jessica McKenna and DCI Cerutti placed second in each of those classes, with the equally consistent Kate Kerr-Horan and Lykkebo’s Don Akino completing the podium for third in each class. Remarkably, at the age of just 17, Katie represented Ireland at her second consecutive European Championships in Ermelo, The Netherlands in September. Katie was the highest-ranked Irish athlete at 18th in the overall FEI Para Dressage World Individual Rankings, ranking third in the Grade III World Rankings and number one in the World Individual U18 Ranking. She completed a stellar year when she was announced as the 2025 The Irish Field Dressage Rider of the Year at the K Club in December.

In February, multiple medal-winning London 2012 Paralympian Helen Kearney was elected as the new Chairwoman of Para Equestrian Ireland. The following month, Horse Sport Ireland announced that Simone Hession would succeed Debora Pijpers as High Performance Para Dressage Manager.

Helen Kearney was elected as the new Chairwoman of Para Equestrian Ireland in February \ Siobhan English Photography

Deadly debut

Paralympian Jessica McKenna (24) made a spectacular 2025 international debut with her new mount DCI Cerutti winning all three Grade III classes at Addington CPEDI3* in Great Britain in May 2025. McKenna would climb to fifth in the FEI Grade III World Rankings by the end of the year. Jessica and the 14-year-old Hannoverian gelding scored 66.778% to win the Para Grand Prix A Grade III class and, for good measure, followed up with victory in the Para Grand Prix B Grade III class on 67.889%. Jessica completed her three-timer at the international show in Buckinghamshire by scoring 71.489% to win the Para Grand Prix Freestyle. She went on to score a personal best of 72.254% when placing second in the Para Freestyle Grand Prix Grade III class at Hartpury CPEDI3* in July.

Seventeen-year-old Clodagh Walsh finished the year at number two in the FEI World Individual U18 Ranking. Clodagh and the former Rosemary Gaffney partner, 16-year-old Hannoverian mare Chantal, scored 71.134% for fourth place in the Grade I Para Freestyle at Hartpury CPEDI3* in July. Kate Kerr-Horan and the 10-year-old gelding Lykkebo’s Don Akino scored 70.111% for second place in the Grade III Para Grand Prix A class at Wellington Heckfield CPEDI3* in July. Very sadly, Kate’s truly wonderful mother Pam Kerr, her mentor and greatest supporter, passed away in August and is much-missed by so many in the Irish equestrian sport community. World and European medallist Michael Murphy had one international outing in 2025 with the 18-year-old KWPN gelding Cleverboy. Murphy and his Paris Paralympics partner scored 74.414% for third place in the Grade One Para Grand Prix Freestyle at Hartpury in July. They also placed third in both the Para Grand Prix A and Para Grand Prix B classes at the Gloucestershire venue.

Angela Lyons (IRL) rides Woodcroft Santa Cruz in the Grade IV Grand Prix A at the FEI European Championship Para Dressage in Ermelo \ FEI/Leanjo de Koster

Championships

Simone Hession opted for a young team, blended with experience, to compete at the FEI Para Dressage European Championships in Ermelo, The Netherlands in September, selecting quartet of Clodagh Walsh, Katie Reilly, Jessica McKenna and the experienced Angela Lyons. Individually, Katie Reilly and Keystone Dawn Chorus scored 72.167% for an impressive sixth place in the Grade III Para Grand Prix A, which secured her qualification for the Para Grand Prix Freestyle Individual Grade III Final. Jessica McKenna and DCI Cerutti slotted into ninth place in Grade III Para Grand Prix A just missing out on qualification for the Freestyle Final. In the Para Grand Prix Freestyle Individual Grade III Final, Katie Reilly and Keystone Dawn Chorus placed eighth on 71.247%. Also qualifying for the individual Grade I Para Grand Prix Freestyle in Ermelo, Clodagh Walsh and Chantal placed seventh on a score of 71.367%. Grade IV rider Angela Lyons and the 17-year-old Hannoverian gelding Woodcroft Santa Cruz had a top 10 finish in the Para Grand Prix B on a 63.162% total.

The Para Grand Prix B scores counted towards the Team Ireland European Championship total. With counting totals of 67.900% from Katie Reilly (Keystone Dawn Chorus), 67.854% from Clodagh Walsh (Chantal) and 66.933% from Jessica McKenna (DCI Cerutti), the Irish team finished a respectable eighth of the 12 teams competing on 202.417%. Germany on a total of 224.454% held off the challenge of the host nation The Netherlands on 223.362% to win an historic first team gold. Germany’s oldest team member, 70-year-old Grade II rider Heidemarie Dresing, said she was “very proud of the team and great team spirit. We are proud of winning the gold medal for the first time - it’s a little bit of a surprise!” Team Denmark completed the podium on a 221.974% total for the bronze medal.

“I knew coming here I had a young team,” Hession commented afterwards. “It’s very much a year of development, so to come eighth out of 12 teams is a good result. Everyone has given their best shot. I’m very happy and excited for the future, given the ability to score much higher from all our riders.”

It is 29 years since the first para dressage competition at the 1996 Paralympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where the late Joan Salmon won an individual bronze medal for Ireland. The Los Angeles Paralympic Games will be held in August 2028, where a total of 78 athletes will compete in 11 Para Equestrian medal events. 15 team slots are available with the first seven qualifying places on offer next year at the 2026 World Championships in Aachen, Germany.

The Team Ireland para-athletes attended an in-person presentation in December to launch the Horse Sport Ireland 2028 Los Angeles Paralympic Games roadmap with a clear focus on qualifying an Irish team to compete at Santa Anita Park. After a promising 2025 season, they have a strong chance of achieving that goal and heading to compete in California in 2028.