LIKE many others in the industry, the international sport horse agent and equestrian coach, Malahide’s Barry O’Connor, has managed to make the most of his time during lockdown.

In fact the timing couldn’t be better, as the break in travel allows him to focus on launching a new chapter in his team’s story; the addition of 24-year-old Northern Ireland native Jenny Rankin as his main rider.

“We are delighted to have Jenny here full-time. I’ve been involved in many aspects of her journey both here and abroad and am confident that she is a good fit for the business going forward.

“To keep things fresh, you must make sure that you move with the times and keep up to date with the latest trends in the industry.

“Along with her youthful attitude and energy, Jenny brings with her a wealth of experience. She rode for Richard and Deirdre Bourns for five years, two of which were spent in Belgium, and learned a huge amount about the production of young horses as well as ring craft.”

Jenny adds: “Deirdre is an amazing horsewoman. We would see Deirdre every day from 9am until 5pm, she has a great work ethic. She has a fantastic eye and is so talented when picking horses, I learned so much from her.”

Jenny was the recipient of the RDS bursary and through that was introduced to Jos Lansink who she credits with teaching her a huge amount. She is a graduate of the 2018 FEI Rolex Young Rider programme and has spent time working in mainland Europe and in the USA.

Her long list of competition wins and placings at various levels speak for itself and include fifth place individually in the young rider European championships.

The rider has just recently finished up after a year spent with Cian O’Connor including a trip to the Sunshine Tour in Spain, and credits O’Connor with teaching her a huge amount about the business management side of the industry.

“Cian’s attention to detail is amazing and the professionalism, structure and organisation side of his operation is outstanding.”

Jenny Rankin and Bennys Legacy jumping at the GCT show in Chantilly. Rankin has now joined Barry O'Connor's yard as the main rider \ Solenn Rispail/ R&B Presse

Future plans

Looking forward, Barry and Jenny have a definite plan for how they see things progressing.

“The plan is to build up an international team of horses for Jenny to compete for our base here in Malahide,” says Barry.

“I see no reason why we can’t be based here in Ireland. More and more people are proving that it is possible. Greg (Broderick), Ger O’Neill, Cian (O’Connor) and Dermott (Lennon) all run thriving businesses here and are all very active at the top level of international competition.

“It’s about the horses you have not where you’re based. The talent and strength of your string is what matters. A good example of this is the Gulliksen family in Norway, no one ever says that they can’t be based at home in Norway and that is just as much of a challenge as Ireland.

“Ten years ago myself and Conor Swail (another northerner so that maybe a good omen) produced some fantastic horses at the highest level and enjoyed great results so I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds.

“In the past few years, I’ve been very lucky to have a couple of very talented young riders based here and I really enjoyed mentoring them and helping them progress to the next level on the riding journey.

“Oisin Alyward and Philip McGuane were both fantastic assets to the business and when they were finished here I was instrumental in getting them their next jobs.

“If I can I like to help people when they are ready to take the next step in their career; as they move on they become another part of your group of contacts so everyone benefits.

“I really enjoy the coaching aspect of the business and I’m a Level Three FEI coach so that is another aspect of the business I’m keen to expand over the next few years.

“I’ve recently done a bit of a revamp and now we have a full sized indoor arena as well as the grass jumping field which is surrounded by a sand gallop. I’ve also installed an aqua treadmill installed which is great for the horses’ fitness.

“We have started a bit of a breeding programme; I currently have three foals by Vivant, Verdi and Hard Rock Z; two of the mothers have jumped 1.50m and one is closely related to my favourite horse of all time, LVS Wizard.

“I don’t have any horse under the age of three here; I just don’t have the fields and space for them so I have one down in Co Clare with excellent horse people Martin and Lisa O’Dea, one in Galway and one in Holland with the Hendrix family.

“I think the blacktype is becoming increasingly important in sport horses. I see it more and more nowadays, the top riders are all buying foals. You have to be patient but it is worth it.

“My son David is going into his last year of secondary school and he is riding well and showing an interest in joining the business. I think he will go and get some experience abroad and maybe study business, alongside riding so that’s an exciting development for the future.

“I think the horse industry will struggle after Covid-19 of course, but horse people are in a good position; we are very good at disease control, we are used to dealing with things like strangles, foot and mouth and flu.

“If you get close to someone at a horse show it is by choice not by accident; horse people are very spatially aware, they have to be; we are used to being risk aware and show-life post Covid-19 will just be an extension of that.

“Horses are moving all the time. I have some coming this week from Holland and the USA to be produced here so it’s all getting going again. People have to be personally responsible, I think ultimately it will come down to the individual. I think we will all really miss Dublin this year. It was like the centre of my wheel really. It was like your reward, getting to spend the week at the show with everyone there.”