“THIS is turning out to be a good year,” said Colm McKay just a few days after he proposed to his girlfriend of four years, Grace Flynn, on a hotel rooftop in Nashville in mid-April.

“A jeweller friend of mine was waiting downstairs so Grace could pick out diamonds for her new ring there and then,” he quipped.

That took a bit of planning, but then again McKay is a master planner.

For over a decade now, the 33-year-old from the small village of Burren in Co Down has held one of the most interesting jobs within the equestrian industry.

As Event Production Manager for the Longines Global Champions Tour, he prepares some of the most lucrative horse show venues on the planet, meets the world’s top show jumpers and watches the best horses in action, before doing it all again in a new country a few weeks later.

McKay recalls the weeks leading up to being offered the job in 2014. “I had sent an email to Edwina Tops-Alexander (wife of GCT founder Jan Tops) before Christmas of 2013, saying that I would love to work on the GCT. I was nearing the end of my studies in Environmental Planning at Queen’s and I didn’t think anything would come out of that email. But less than two months later, I was sitting with Fred van Lierop of the GCT in Valkenswaard discussing work.”

With a hugely impressive CV in his hand, Van Lierop wasn’t going to let this talent get away and McKay had a quick decision to make.

“I had two months left in college from a three-year course. I didn’t know how to tell my parents I was moving to Holland straight away – in fact a few days later.”

Having spent a lot of time with Raymond Jess and the Mossvale Arena Party, as well as learning course designing, McKay proved he had the experience to secure this exciting new job.

Even from an early age, McKay was involved in all things equestrian. “Some of my first memories were with my father (Pat) watching the cross-country in Scarva and Tyrella. I also took part in the children’s hunt organised by the Newry Harriers, but most of all it was my involvement in the Warrenpoint Pony Club.

An aerial view of the Miami LGCT set-up

“I have great memories of participating in the weekly competitions on a Friday evening, as well as the ‘silver shows’ and gymkhanas.

“One of the other highlights was the cross-country competition hosted by the Downey family at Tamnaharry House in the autumn and the Newry Show. We would help dad and the other committee members with preparation the weeks/days leading up to these shows, setting up the jumps and many of the other little jobs that were required to put on a show. That was really the first taste I got of shows, albeit at grassroots level. It was a really good foundation for my brothers and I.

“Even though I was only working in the arenas with Mossvale, I really got to see how bigger shows were run. I also spent time with Tom Holden and Frank Glynn and was an assistant course designer with the SJI.”

The Mossvale team consists of show jumping course designers and volunteers and, for several years, McKay got to travel to the likes of Olympia and Windsor before getting the opportunity to join the team at London 2012.

“We had great fun travelling to shows, especially the Olympics, as we had done the test event the year before too. We had to fundraise for our accommodation and Sean Cooney from Botanica International sponsored our minibus, but it was a great experience.

“Over the years, I worked with some great people, such as Nigel and Raymond (Jess), Bob Ellis, Alan Wade and Bernardo Costa Cabral to name a few. This opened a lot of doors.”

The big move

Just a few days after that meeting in Valkenswaard in February 2014, McKay had packed his bags and moved to Holland. “To be honest, I thought I would be doing basic work. I had no idea what was to come.”

Just 24 hours later, McKay was in Paris drawing up site plans for an upcoming show at the Champ de Mars, located between the Eiffel Tower and the École Militaire.

Following the first meeting – which was in French, of which McKay had very little – he caught a train from Paris to Antwerp airport. “I was walking around the airport car park clicking the remote trying to find Fred’s car, which I then had to drive back to Valkenswaard.

“Nothing could have prepared me for that year. I had to learn the role quickly.”

The first ever Paris leg of the GCT took place in July of that year, so for the next few months, McKay took the train to France almost weekly to prepare the site.

Some 2,000 tonnes – 64 truck loads – of a silica sand mix could be brought in for any one event, in addition to grandstands for upwards of 3,000 spectators, stabling for some 250 horses, and hospitality. Then you have the issue of traffic, and city laws. The paperwork is enormous.

“That year I worked at Monaco, Paris, London, Valkenswaard and Lausanne.”

The Global Champions Tour was set up by Jan Tops in 2006 and the first season consisted of six shows. It now covers three continents, 13 countries, 16 destinations and offers more than €36 million in prize money.

Tops is responsible financially for around seven of those shows, while the remainder comes from local companies in the host countries.

Longines has been title partner and official timekeeper of the GCT since 2013.

Eoin McMahon and Mila were on the winning Reisenbeck International team, who won the Global Champions League fina and also secured the league title at Riyadh \ Stefano Grasso/LGCT-GCL

In 2024, Tops also introduced the Global Champions Arabian Tour for Arabian horses. With events in seven countries on two continents, it offers a total prize-pool of €17 million.

A total of 14 rounds of the GCT took place in 2014. While venues and numbers have changed from time to time in the past 10 years, McKay’s role has remained much the same. He is responsible for the delivery of everything needed to run a five-star show.

“In the lead up to the event, I work on the site layout design, event management plans and construction schedules, as well as the contracting of suppliers for the equipment and materials, which make up the event. I will also liaise with the various city departments to ensure the permit requirements are met ahead of the load in.

“Another aspect of my role is the work on the ground, which includes the site management during the build period, operational days, and breakdown of a venue.

“I must ensure the event is built up on time and to a high standard, then dismantled and the venue is handed back to the city and/or landowner in better condition than when we took it over.

“We use a lot of local contractors for events. The sand is rented, as are the grandstands, flooring, fencing and stables et cetera.”

Value of preparation

Preparation for a show begins months in advance. For the Miami leg in April, McKay started planning last October.

“Miami is so unique. Permits vary from country to country, but because the show is held on the beach, there is a lot of paperwork – up to 60 documents. The biggest challenge is getting permits and time can be tight. We often don’t get them until a week before we start building.

“The actual erection of the site takes just under two weeks, with another week to break down after the show is over. This often involves a huge team of people.”

The direction of the sun, the relief of the site, the drainage, fixed electricity and water connections, hotel and airport locations and wildlife all must be considered during the early planning stages of any show.

“In a period of just 10 days before Miami this year, we lost approximately six metres of the beach due to erosion. The sea turtle nesting season began on April 1st and the show was just a few days later. We had a team monitoring them for the entire duration.

“As part of the permit, we were not allowed to flatten the beach, lights had to be filtered and no jumping or loud noise was permitted after 11pm. All trucks were escorted on and off the beach by police.”

McKay says it’s all in a day’s work and each venue may present different challenges. “At another show, the team had to build the grandstand between two water fountains.”

Michael Duffy and Claptonn Mouche on their way to winning the five-star Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix at Miami Beach in Florida \ Stefano Grasso/ LGCT

When a new venue is proposed, McKay will inspect it two years in advance.

He was instrumental in setting up the inaugural New York leg at Governors Island in 2019, and again in 2022. There was no show in New York in 2023 and it is not included for 2024, but McKay is delighted that New York will feature again next year.

Like so many other equestrian events worldwide, the GCT was badly hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020.

Only one leg of the series took place in Doha that year, but as they say, ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ and the break in competitions allowed McKay to spend some valuable time at home.

A record 19 shows were part of the GCT in 2019. For 2024, that number stands at 16. The recent Miami show was the first of six McKay will oversee this year.

“Next up is Stockholm at the end of June, so we have already started the build-up. I was out there in January, but was able to do a lot remotely until I did another visit in May.”

From there, McKay will set up for London (August 16-18), Valkenswaard (August 23-25), Rome (August 30-September 1), Abu Dhabi (October 24-26) and Riyadh (November 20-23).

“Some of the shows, such as Mexico, Shanghai and Madrid are run by a franchise that organise other sporting events as well.”

Shanghai was making a return to the calendar after a four-year absence and took place at the new purpose-built Shanghai Juss International Equestrian Centre. It spans a sprawling 84,600 square metres over five floors and is China’s first permanent professional equestrian venue.

For each city to successfully host a leg of the GCT, the backdrop must have the ‘wow’ factor. In Monaco you have the superyachts, in London you have the stunning Royal Hospital Chelsea, and in Rome you have the Circus Maximus.

An aerial view of the London LGCT set-up

Abu Dhabi is an exciting new venue this year and will host both the GCT and GCL finals in October, while the Playoffs take place in Riyadh in November.

The biggest weekend in show jumping in terms of prize money, the Global Champions Playoffs will alternate between Prague and Riyadh every year from now until 2029.

New dimension

The introduction of the Global Champions League in 2016 added a new dimension for teams.

“There were some challenges in the first year, but now it has become a great event. Alone there are eight Irish riders across 14 teams.”

McKay says he would love a leg of the GCT to come to Ireland, but a lot of factors would need to come into play.

“It’s not that easy, in terms of Dublin. The product of the GCT is very different. I have already looked at a few options to see if we could make it work somewhere.”

As someone who has watched Irish riders earn multiple wins in the GCT in recent years, he believes the strength of the Irish team will make them among the favourites going to Paris this summer.

McKay was present in Miami to see Galwayman Michael Duffy win his first ever five-star Grand Prix on board Claptonn Mouche. Duffy is also a member of the Rome Gladiators team along with Richard Howley.

Colm McKay

An Irishman through and through, since relocating back to Co Down earlier this year, McKay is now aiming for a better work/life balance.

“Grace (an accountant) and I have just moved into our first home, which we are refurbishing. I am cutting down on the number of events I oversee and building a team under me, so I can spend more time in Ireland.

“For nine years I lived out of a suitcase. It was time to come home,” he concluded.