2025 proved to be a year of transition for Irish international dressage. The year started with the news in January that Irish Olympian Abi Lyle sustained a fractured vertebrae when she was bucked off halfway around an arena eventing cross-country course. In April, Horse Sport Ireland announced that Anne Marie Dunphy would continue at the helm of youth and senior dressage as High Performance Manager.

In May, Rio Olympics’ finalist Judy Reynolds confirmed the 14-year-old Fuerstenball Old gelding For Fun 51 (‘Fritzi’) had been sold to Switzerland. Abi Lyle would subsequently announce in June that she would not be competing at the FEI Dressage European Championships with her Paris Olympics Games partner Giraldo. This news really heralded a period of transition for Irish international dressage. For the first time in over two decades, none of the ‘Girls in Green’ quartet that qualified Ireland for the Tokyo Olympics - Anna Merveldt, Heike Holstein, Kate Dwyer and Judy Reynolds - along with Abi Lyle, would compete at international level in 2025. It was clear that for a small dressage nation like Ireland, it would be an uphill task on the world stage in the 2025 season.