NICKY Galligan’s victory in the $250,000 four-star FEI Grand Prix in California last Saturday is not just another Irish win.

Galligan’s story is different; it is one of patience and determination. Unlike most riders competing at the highest level of show jumping, Galligan competes on just one horse, and he owns her himself. He has had the incredible chesnut Irish Sport Horse mare Javas Miss Jordan since she was four, producing her slowly to finally arrive at where he knows she belongs.

With just one horse and a new business, the $82,500 prize money will make a difference to Galligan’s future planning. He is smiling from ear-to-ear when we speak a few days later, and his words of admiration for the Judy Murphy-bred Luidam mare are infectious.

In a two-horse jump-off with American great Richard Spooner, Galligan won by almost four seconds. “I was not riding to be second. At that point, there was no point in being cautious or calculated. Jordan is incredibly quick and very very careful. I saw Richard go as I was standing at the in-gate, he was very tight in his track but his horse was slower moving.

“I got lucky at the second fence, where I had a bit of a rub. But she was just amazing, she was phenomenal for rest of the jump-off. I didn’t realise I had won by so much, it was only a few hours later someone told me we won by four seconds!”

That Grand Prix had been the target since Galligan and his partner, Australian show jumper Paige Jardine, went to California for the winter circuit with Jordan and it was the first time they competed in a four-star Grand Prix. “We had been working backwards from Sunday from the very first week. That was the aim, to have her ready and healthy for that big class and thankfully that plan paid off.”

While they had some top results in national Grands Prix, the combination burst onto the international scene in January when winning a three-star Grand Prix at the beautiful Desert International Horse Park venue in California. Galligan has taken his time with the mare because he believes in her so much.

“A win like that has been the aim since she was four years old. I grew up in family with old school horse people, and the aim was that when she steps out, she stays there consistently and doesn’t just have one or two good results,” he explained.

Nicky Galligan and his partner Paige Jardine with Javas Miss Jordan after he won the $250,000 FEI Grand Prix \ Katie Browne

Hunting background

The 30-year-old grew up in Co Meath on a horse farm and spent his younger years hunting two days a week with the Ballymacad Foxhounds. His parents, Phil and Anne Marie, ran a small riding school, hunting livery stable and he spent his time breaking, producing and selling horses for the leisure market.

“It’s always been about horses for me, but unlike others, I didn’t grow up jumping ponies. I moved into eventing then a little bit and the people responsible for changing my path to show jumping are the late Harold McGahern and Pat Hanly. I won a bursary from the RDS and trained with Norwegian coach Hans Jenning Storm and it was then I learned so much more about working horses the right way.”

Education was important and Galligan completed his Bachelor’s degree at CAFRE Enniskillen before concentrating on horses full-time. Through Barry O’Connor, he first went to America to work for Emil Spadone before spending a winter riding for Darragh Kenny when Kenny had just started his own business.

When returning home, he purchased Jordan from her breeder as a four-year-old. In her five-year-old year, he knew what he had and he was prepared to wait it out. “She qualified for the big five-year-old final at September Cavan when clear in both qualifiers, but I didn’t take her to the final on the Sunday. I felt I didn’t want her go that big, I thought she was a long way to jumping a Grand Prix and jumping that five-year-old class won’t matter to her then … so she went to the field and stayed there until the July of her six-year-old year.”

Had a dream

Then, six years ago, he made the decision to give America a proper go and together with Jordan, he headed to Hyperion Stud in Virginia, where for three years, Galligan broke and produced the young horses at home. “That was also a nice time for Jordan because she was being properly produced and had no pressure.”

From there, he spent a winter with Kirsten VanderVeen where he rode her now top horse, Bull Runs Prince of Peace, before moving to work for a private client until Covid-19 hit and disaster struck at home. His father, Phil, was struck down with Covid and Nicky had to return to be by his side.

“My dad spent four and a half weeks on a ventilator. That was a scary time, and trying to get back was hard,” he explained. After nearly three months at home and eventually getting a waiver to return to the USA, he found his job was no longer available.

“I started doing my own thing with my good friend Colm McGuckian in Long Island, New York. I did a lot of teaching out of his facility and worked as hard as I could to be able to afford to go and show. Then I had a couple of good results and it made us kick on and come to California for the winter.”

Galligan and Paige took care of Jordan at all times. At this level, to see a top rider without a groom is rare, but he relishes that opportunity to know exactly what she is thinking. They have just launched a business – Guardian Stables LLC – and hope to kick on from here.

“At the moment, Jordan is my only horse and it is quite a burden for her, so the next stage to develop that. We have just launched an LLC, we are having a website done. And we did a few sales horses here over the winter, I have ridden a few young horses for a breeder out here. I have gotten some nice comments in how I do things for the good of the horse.”

Mentality

His love for the mare is clear to see in pictures and from talking to him. Offers have rolled in but Galligan is chasing the dream that he knew he could make come true. “She loves her job, it is one of the most defining characteristics of her. Her mentality is second to none and she is very very trainable, she just loves to go into the ring. She’s my whole reason for everything I do.

“I’ve always believed in her, so it’s nice to be able to show everybody else how good she is and how special she is.”

He is constantly in touch with Jordan’s breeder, Judy Murphy of Javas Sport Horses in Co Louth. “I am always in contact with Judy, I always send her the videos after a good round and she loves that.”

Next on the agenda for Jordan is three weeks in the paddock before her next show in Old Salam in May. At the moment, Galligan remains in California but will begin to make his way back towards New York, where plans will be put into place for another season of dream catching.