GAIN Horse Feeds has announced that it is to sponsor Ireland’s top two event riders, Aoife Clark and Joseph Murphy, on their road to Rio 2016.

The two Olympians will become brand ambassadors for the company, with Murphy competing mainly on the Irish circuit from his base near Strangford Lough and Clark based in Oxfordshire, Britain.

Gain’s nutritionists will work closely with both riders and their teams, assessing the horses and creating scientifically-supported diet plans to ensure all of the horses are receiving complete nutrition for optimum performance.

Murphy and Clark were part of the Irish team at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2014, where they helped secure Olympic qualification for Ireland at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

They also are two of the few Irish riders who both have won at two-star and three-star international level and both enjoyed top 10 placings at the top of the sport at four-star level.

Speaking at the official launch of the new partnership earlier this week Murphy said: “I was excited when Gain Horse Feeds approached me, as they not only provide a high quality feed, they also provide a professional yet friendly service where a representative is always only a phone call away.

“I am really lucky to have a superb bunch of sponsors supporting me. The addition of another sponsor of the same calibre is super- I am looking forward to the association. It is a great initiative to have both Aoife and I on board - Aoife is a serious competitor.”

Clark added: “I am delighted to be joining the team at GAIN. They have always been huge supporters of Team Ireland and I am very lucky to have them supporting me on the road to Rio. My horses are looking superb since changing onto their feeds, and I can’t recommend them highly enough.”

The pair will join an international stable of Gain Horse Feeds riders that already includes Cian O’Connor, Oliver Townend, Nick Skelton, Christian Ahlmann and Roland Tong. Anne Priestman, Gain Horse feeds UK equine country manager, said her team was delighted to be providing expert nutritional support to British-based Clark and confident that her horses would benefit from a consistently nutritious and balanced diet, which is a key factor in high performance.

Joanne Hurley, Gain Horse Feeds Ireland country manager added: As official feed consultants to Team Ireland Equestrian, I have had the pleasure to getting to know Aoife and Joseph over the last number of years and their dedication to the sport and ambition to succeed is inspiring.”