Name: Oliver Penfold
Age: 15
Parents: Gerald and Joanna Penfold
From: Templemore, North Tipperary
What are your top animals?Carra More Beach, Chatsworth Danielle, Lakeview Captain Kannan, Sportsfield Silvery Fox, HF Precious Cruise
Trainers: Gerald Penfold and Paddy O’Donnell
Where do you see yourself based in future years? I would like it to go abroad, either to Belgium or Florida, America.
Who has influenced your career so far? My father has been buying ponies for me since day one. I am very lucky as both of my parents do horses full-time, this gives me a great opportunity to ride horses and ponies and at the same time have their full support. Paddy O’Donnell took me on at the end of 2018 to help me as a tutor. This is a great opportunity and I’m very excited to be working with him this year.
Who is the rider you most look up to and why? Ludger Beerbaum is an idol of mine, he has won three gold medals for Germany and was ranked Number 1 in the FEI ranking on many occasions. He is a good ambassador for the sport and is still competing at a high level and continues to win.
What are your major achievements and/or wins to date? In 2018 I managed to qualify my father’s horse Lakeview Captain Kannan for the RDS, that was a huge achievement for horse and rider. I also managed to come sixth on the second day in the Pony Grand Prix at Mullingar National Pony Championships.
What do you think could help the industry in Ireland? In my opinion, the showjumpers of Ireland are not being supported by the Irish government the same as the racing organisations are, showjumping in Ireland is at an all-time high as horses are being produced at home and jumping in top European and international classes. This is a time for the Irish government to be backing showjumping in Ireland through sponsorship of bigger and newer places.
What are your goals for 2019? My goals in 2019 are to jump in my first Senior Grand Prix. I would also like to qualify my 148cm pony (Carra More Beach) for the RDS this year as it is my last year jumping ponies. I hope to compete in bigger and better classes with my three older horses and hopefully jump HF Precious Cruise in a few young horse classes.
Oliver Penfold was in
conversation with Emer
Bermingham