FOR most people in the equestrian industry, they judge success either in the victories that they have notched up or on how their horses have performed. For international coach Ian Fearon, he measures his success in what his students or his coached teams have accomplished.

His motto is simple, “train to perform” and this is fundamental in his coaching methods. Without a doubt, if medals were his measuring stick, he has much to be proud of in his career. His impressive record has been recognised on many occasions and in 2010 he was named as coach of the year and again in 2014 and 2018.

Fearon is no stranger to the pressure of sport, having competed himself. “I competed on the national circuit with a lot of young horses and at Grand Prix level with consistent results,” he says.

“I enjoyed my time in the saddle and I have a very good memory of being asked to be a member of the provincial Nations Cup team with the late great Paul Darragh, and Jack Doyle and Eddie Macken. For these guys, it was a regular occurrence, but for me it was a fantastic experience and I really must say that Paul Darragh was a fabulous mentor too me. Aspects which I learnt from him at that time form part of my team training ethos today. As an individual, the pressure is different, but the expectations are the same, regarding outcomes and results. In a team, other team riders depend on your rounds so the pressure is different. It was my team experience here that allowed me to feel that and the feeling of a sweet victory as a team member, even if it was too be my one and only chance,” he says with a laugh.

In the early 1980s, a bad accident saw him spend less time in the saddle and concentrate more on his coaching. “I was always coaching, even when I was still riding. After the accident I started to do more, taking on private clients at first and later I became the coach that trained and travelled to shows for Showjumping Ireland teams. I travelled to many home county shows where we won many Nations Cups through all the pony levels. I’m also a big part of the SJI five-bar National Training Education program and I have written a lot of the modules in the book. This has been a real success with coaches and riders,” he adds.

MEDAL SUCCESS

Fearon’s talent as a coach became evident and he gained momentum quickly. Through Showjumping Ireland, he became the coach for the international underage ponies and children on horses. Here the success continued, bringing home bronze and silver in both ponies and children on horses in the European championships.

Fearon began to see changes that he felt would improve results. “Although the teams were doing very well, I still thought there needed to be big changes and more structure put in place. This became more evident as I spent more time watching the change in the bigger European shows,” he explains.

“When Horse Sport Ireland took over all international participation with all the underage squads, I really wanted to become part of this. There was a bit of a problem however, as I didn’t want the position unless I was coach and manager. At the time, Horse Sport Ireland viewed holding both positions as a conflict of interest but later I got the word I got the position,” he said.

For Fearon, it all began with his new trials and putting together a test that would put the combinations under competition pressure. “I sat down with Damian McDonald and put together the three-day European simulation trials in Ireland. It was a plan to up the standard with the trials, plus it allowed combinations to gain more experience. We followed a strict calendar, and everyone knew what was expected of them,” he said.

Without a doubt, the new changes established a format and the fruits of this system were clear to see. “During my time as manager and coach, we won many back-to-back Nations Cups and Grands Prix. Along with being the first country to win the Nation Cup series in 2010, we won all the three of the Nation Cups qualifying rounds and the final in Switzerland. This started a fabulous roll of medals at the Europeans in 2009 and 2010. We achieved the actual same result both years, bringing home gold, silver and bronze medals. I also trained the pony eventing team that year as showjumping coach and they took the bronze medal and the following year, they went one better, securing silver,” he says proudly.

He then took on the role as the showjumping coach for the junior and young riders. After this, he added the preparation of the young event horses that travelled each year to France to his portfolio. “Becoming the showjumping coach for the senior eventing squad paid dividends. In time I became very involved as trainer, not just on HSI days, but also as their private coach, which left a good long-term strategy and training system.

“In the junior and young riders teams, our results from 2011 to 2014 were outstanding, with bronze silver and gold medals been won. In 2014, we secured back-to-back team gold medals, plus individual silver individual and bronze. We also qualified for the London Olympics with a great strong senior team where we finished fifth as a team and eight individually,” he recalls.

“I have many great memories as a coach and one of them has to be 2017, when Abbie Sweetnam and Dynamite Spartacus played a huge role in helping her fantastic teammates bring home the gold medals at the European championships in Hungary. Another highlight for me was in 2014, when Ireland secured Olympic Qualification for Rio.”

EXPLORING OPTIONS

In 2015 and 2016, Fearon found that it was time to take a step back from all the high-performance squads and concentrate on other areas. “I thought the time was right to explore other options and began spending more time with private clients at home and overseas. Another great experience was working with the Indonesian squad for the Asian Games. At the same time, I continued with private clients throughout Ireland. This is something that I have always enjoyed doing as it gives me the opportunity to train talented young athletes. The training covers all aspects of equation and equestrianism; helping them to become better horsemen and horsewomen,” he explains.

In 2017, Fearon was to be drafted in again. “I received a phonecall from the newly appointed manager, Sally Corscadden, asking me if I would like to come back as high-performance showjumping coach for the senior eventing squad. We had some super results on the build-up to the World Equestrian Games. In 2018, we were the first Irish Senior Eventing Team to win a medal at the World Equestrian Games and took home the individual silver as well. It was something I am extremely proud of as in doing this, I was instrumental in securing medals with all of the teams that I had ever worked with.”

The apple never falls far from the tree and Ian is happy to see his son Neal take an interest in coaching. “Neal is still competing on the circuit, and while doing this he sources young and experienced competition horses for clients. While we ran the yard, my wife Eve was the real backbone of the business, with her expertise and support. Now she schedules all my clinics.”

Along with his coaching commitments, Ian continues to shape the future of training here. He is a member of the steering group with the HSI national coaching program, a tutor for training the trainers, and a Level Three qualified coach. He is also the head judge for the Stepping Stones Young Eventing Horses League and a judge for many young horse classes.