Dressage rider: Abigail Lyle
Horse: Giraldo (Rousseau x Flemmingh)
Breeder: Leon and Gerrit Eggink
Owner: Caroline Clarry and Abigail Lyle
Form: Paris will be an Olympic debut for Co Down’s Abigail Lyle who was a late starter in the sport and made her championship debut in 2022 at the World Championships in Herning, followed by the European Championships in 2023. The Worlds appearance came aboard the 13-year-old gelding Giraldo who Lyle had ridden since he was a rising four-year-old.
This pair started the year in excellent form, winning the Freestyle to Music at Addington CSI3* on a score of 74.95%, after a third-place finish in the Grand Prix (70.32%) the previous day. Among the 2024 results is a fourth place finish in the Freestyle at Le Man CSI4* and a 10th place finish in the Grand Prix (70.21%) at the CDI-W London International Horse Show. Her last few Grand Prix scores will need to improve if she is to progress to the Freestyle final. Abi reports that her wish for Paris is to ride a clean test and enjoy the experience.
Anne Marie Dunphy \ Alf Harvey
High performance director: Anne Marie Dunphy
Paris will be a first Olympic Games for high performance director Anne Marie Dunphy who took over as chef d’equipe of the senior dressage programme in May 2023. Based in Co Kilkenny, Dunphy is one of Ireland’s leading dressage coaches and one of only 10 HSI Level 3 dressage coaches. The double national dressage champion was awarded the HSI Coach of the Year Award in 2016 and Dunphy still features regularly in these pages for her own riding successes.