FIVE lucky readers of The Irish Field were thrilled to have breakfast with the Irish Aga Khan squad at the InterContinental Hotel in Dublin on Thursday, ahead of the country’s biggest show jumping competition.

Michael Blake and squad members Darragh Kenny, Denis Lynch, Mark McAuley and Daniel Coyle as well as team vet Marcus Swail, joined The Irish Field team, Nicky Logue, general manager of the InterContinental, main sponsor Stephen O’Connor of the Underwriting Exchange and CEO of Horse Sport Ireland Denis Duggan on the eve of the Aga Khan.

Denis Duggan, Bernard Jackman and William Minchin, pictured at the Breakfast with the stars at the Intercontinental Hotel with the Irish show jumping team at Dublin Horse Show \ Claire Nash

From over 2,000 entries received, the winners of the competition were Avril Cronin and Sheila Grace, Siobhan Murray and James Oliver Murray, Lisa O’Dwyer and Sarah Shephard and Salome and Nicole Brennan.

The prize winners got an exclusive insight into the team, ahead of the big competition including from Daniel Coyle, who gave a glimpse into the owner-rider relationship and expressed his gratitude to Ariel Grange (USA), the owner of his Olympic mount, Legacy.

Daniel Coyle with Siobhan Murray at the Breakfast with the stars at the Intercontinental Hotel with the Irish show jumping team at Dublin Horse Show \ Claire Nash

“I guess it’s very hard for people to understand at the Olympics, whenever somebody from another country is supporting another country, but they’re actually supporting their horse, and we’re just privileged that they allow us to compete them for our country, and somehow they become part of our country for that time. It’s been a life-changing thing for me from the beginning to end and I’m just so grateful.”

Team Manager Michael Blake gave a glimpse into his thinking when selecting a team for the big stage of the Aga Khan.

“I can only look after our guys. Obviously, on paper, everybody’s talking about some other teams (as favourites’ for the Nations Cup), but you know, you never win anything on paper. You have to go into the ring and jump. And, as Darragh (Kenny) rightly said, this show means so much to us and we’re going to give our everything - we’re going to leave it in that ring.

“The Swiss are down as the favourites, I suppose purely because of the names they have on the squad, rather than the performances that they have delivered this year. You know, if you go back and you look at performances this year, it’s been a long, successful year for Team Ireland.

“The Longines League of Nations – it was the first year of it and we as a team sat down together and said we want to win this league. I’d say people thought we were mad, but we won it. We’ve had a great, great year. But all that takes its toll on the horses and even though we have probably greater depth and more horses than anybody else, when you get to the middle of August, a little bit of fatigue sets in.

“You want to win every day, but sometimes it’s difficult. The thing to remember though is anything can happen in sport, and it’s a great leveller because if it was a foregone conclusion, it wouldn’t be sport, would it?”

Blake also thanked the Underwriting Exchange for their ongoing support of the Irish team and for coming on board to sponsor the Aga Khan Nations Cup of 2024.

Asked if the pressure of the home crowd gets to him, Denis Lynch said while he enjoyed the the ceremony of the Nations Cup parade, some nerves do creep in. “If you don’t doubt yourself, you don’t stay sharp,” he said.

Denis Lynch with Avril Cronin and Sheila Grace at the Breakfast with the stars at the Intercontinental Hotel with the Irish show jumping team at Dublin Horse Show \ Claire Nash

“I’ve never won anything in my life without touching a pole – sometimes it stays up and sometimes it goes down, so you need a bit a bit of luck and you need to ride it like any other show. Dublin is absolutely the best show by far – for us anyway!”

Mark McAuley explained the family connection in the story of his Irish-bred mare GRS Lady Amaro (ISH), who is by Amaretto D’Arco, a stallion who jumped on an Aga Khan team with Shane Sweetnam, and is out of the thoroughbred mare Legal Lady, bred by his uncle in Wexford.

“It’s a nice story, a bit of a family affair. My cousin Patrick Hickey produced her until she was eight and then I took her over - she’s been a great mare and it’s nice to have her on the team this week,” he said.

Mark McAuley (centre) speaks with guests at the Breakfast with the stars at the Intercontinental Hotel with the Irish show jumping team at Dublin Horse Show \ Claire Nash

Summing up the positive energy in the room was Darragh Kenny, who said: “I love being home here, I love the pressure of Dublin – you really want to win here, it’s a great buzz and great excitement. All of us are putting our best foot forward and we are doing the best we can.”

Darragh Kenny at the breakfast with the stars at the Intercontinental Hotel with the Irish show jumping team at Dublin Horse Show \ Claire Nash