Brian Hennessy

A GALLANT performance saw the Irish young rider team secure the bronze medal at the European championships for juniors and young riders at Wiener Neustadt in Austria yesterday.

The team of Galway’s Michael Duffy (Miss Untouchable), Mayo’s Michael G Duffy (Felix), Clare’s Eoin McMahon (Prophan) and a second Mayo rider Jonathan Gordon (Fellini 131), came through a three way jump-off between Ireland, Britain and Germany to decide the silver and bronze medals. Belgium took home the gold while Britain missed out of a place on the podium after the timed decider.

Speaking to The Irish Field from Austria, team manager John Ledingham said: “We had prepared for this all year with our young riders competing at three-star level and they also had an opportunity to compete at four-star level. This is the way forward for our young riders and it offers them excellent experience.

“The level of competition was extremely high with 21 children on horses and junior teams along with 14 young rider teams. Our four riders were very unlucky to miss out on the gold medal by only a fraction and we are delighted to secure the bronze after a fantastic performance”.

Full report in The Irish Field next week.