ON August 21st and 22nd, Michelle Kenny and Rafael Sanctuary will host one of the competitive highlights of 2020 at their River Lodge Equestrian venue in Co Wexford. The showcase, which the couple have poured their heart and soul into, comes two years, almost to the day, since the pair lost everything they had.

Their story is one of resilience and the hard times has made them “stronger and a lot more focused”. Two years on, their focus has switched to concentrate on show jumping; Michelle has a group of horses at Grand Prix level and they are training clients, although she says she has “unfinished business” in eventing, having just a handful of senior team appearances before losing her horses.