The 1970s are remembered as the glory days of Irish show jumping. In those days, crowds gathered to watch show jumping heroes such as Eddie Macken and Paul Darragh demonstrate their talents across the country. Kilkenny native Michael Hutchinson, who was also competing in this era, has fond memories of this time. Still involved in the sport through his son Michael and his Ballyquirke Stud, he has seen radical changes.

“The 70s was truly a great era in show jumping,” recalls Hutchinson. “At the time I had a good bit of success on horses such as Slyguff and Young Diamond. Slyguff may not have been the easiest horse to manage at the start, but once he learnt his job he was a terrific horse. Young Diamond, I sold to Sweden, and Paul Darragh went over there and bought him back. They later jumped in Nations Cups together.”