THE equestrian community added its voice to the national outpouring of profound sadness at the tragic loss of the brave Coast Guard Rescue 116 helicopter crew while on a Co Mayo rescue mission earlier this week.

Pilot Capt. Dara Fitzpatrick and her crew had carried out many life-saving medivacs to help stricken riders and were credited with saving the lives of equestrian riders, including members of the hunting fraternity.

Chairman of Horse Sport Ireland, Jim Beecher, said: “Horse Sport Ireland would like to express their sincere condolences to the family of Capt. Dara Fitzpatrick.

“Her father John was well known in the hunting fields and her sister Niamh worked with HSI, in her capacity as sports psychologist, for the Senior and under 21 high performance eventing teams since 2012. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the families of the crew who have been struck by this tragedy.”

LIFESAVERS

The daughter of John and Mary Fitzpatrick, Dara, one of six children, was among the Irish Coast Guard’s most experienced pilots.

A huge search is ongoing to try and locate the bodies of her missing crew – Ciaran Smith, Mark Duffy and Paul Ormbsy. Between them, they saved countless people’s lives across the country and at sea during their extraordinary careers.

Donal O’Beirne of Hoofprints Innovations, who was rescued by Dara’s helicopter and crew when he suffered a bad hunting fall with the Bray Hunt in December 2016, described Dara as “a hero’’ this week and said he “owes his life’’ to the crew.