DEREK McConnell of Longfield Farm is in the fortunate position of having accumulated intricate knowledge of many aspects of both eventing and show jumping at the top level before he set up his own operation in Rathangan, Co Kildare.

“When I was six years old I made a career decision to become a cowboy! I had the hat and the guns, but I needed the horse. It was not until I started competing in jumping classes that I was bitten by the competitive bug. I hung up my gun for a while until I joined the Army,” McConnell explained about how he got into the sport.