A MAN of many talents, Irish Olympic event rider Padraig McCarthy is not your usual professional sportsman. A published academic, with an equestrian background in show jumping, he turned to eventing just eight years ago.

In the intervening years, his meteoric rise through the ranks has seen him emerge as one of the best in the sport, with European, World and Olympic appearances already in the bag. The pinnacle so far, came in 2018, when at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, he helped Team Ireland win the team silver medal, while netting individual silver for himself.