EVENTING, hunting and show jumping dominated the front pages of the Irish Horse World throughout 2024. There was no hunting – as an equestrian sport – in Paris, so show jumping and eventing, along with dressage, featured in Olympic Games collages that fronted the issues of June 15th, August 3rd and 10th.

Our international show jumpers – a special band of brothers with the odd sister thrown into the mix – travel and win all over the world, victories not always highlighted these days by the mainstream media, who are hung up on ball games, win or lose. In these pages, of course, we give the show jumpers the coverage they deserve.

Take for instance Canada-based Derry native Daniel Coyle, The Irish Field senior show jumper of the year for 2023, who featured on the front page of the IHW three times individually during 2024, with Ariel Grange’s great Zangersheide mare Legacy.

“On their way to winning the Leipzig leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup” (January 27th), after “the incredible partnership secured their second FEI Jumping World Cup win in a row last weekend at Amsterdam” (February 3rd) and “had an incredible run of form throughout the Longines League of Nations series and was presented with the Horse of the League prize at the final in Barcelona last weekend” (October 12th).

Other individual show jumpers to appear on the front page in the first three months of the year included “Mikey Pender pictured beaming on the podium after winning Sunday’s five-star 1.55m Longines World Cup Grand Prix in Sharjah, UAE, and, inset, in action with the stunning HHS Calais” (February 24th); followed by “Cian O’Connor and Fancy de Kergane, were on the winning Irish team, along with Darragh Kenny and Eddy Blue, David O’Brien and El Balou OLD and Shane Sweetnam with RR Combella, who claimed the $150,000 CSIO4* Nations Cup at Wellington last weekend (March 9th).

Trendy

Next we had “Jessica Burke and Express Trend on their way to winning the four-star 1.55m Grand Prix at Vejer de la Frontera on Sunday” (March 16th) and “Shane Sweetnam and Otis Blue soar through the air on their way to a clear first round during the Longines League of Nations in Ocala, which was won by Michael Blake’s Team Ireland comprising Sweetnam, Daniel Coyle, Cian O’Connor and Darragh Kenny” (March 30th).

Next up, “Lauren Adams and Slieve Bloom Bella Rose were on the winning Irish CSIOP Nations Cup team at Sentower Park, Belgium last weekend, along with Cian McMunn, Lily Tunney and Senan Reape. The quartet stormed home with a 17-fault margin over second-placed Sweden” (April 13th) and “Denis Lynch and Brooklyn Heights on their way to winning the 1.60m speed class at the five-star Longines Global Champions fixture in Mexico City last weekend” (April 20th).

Photographs of 20-year-old Francis Derwin winning at two of the country’s top international shows featured on the front page of the IHW in 2024. “Francis Derwin and Flexi K, pictured on their way to winning the Balmoral Grand Prix last Friday” (May 25th) and “Francis Derwin and Parvati Aeg galloping to win the opening Speed Stakes at the five-star Dublin Horse Show” (August 17th).

Three weeks later, it was Irish show jumping poster girl “Niamh McEvoy and Jargon DN on their way to winning the Plusvital 1.50m Grand Prix at the Irish Breeders’ Classic in Barnadown last week, where McEvoy also finished second and third” (September 7th) and, a month after that, it was “Richard Howley won the five-star Grand Prix in Coapexpan, Mexico with Zodiak du Buisson Z (October 5th).

These two geldings are greys as are so many of the horses and ponies who graced the front page of the IHW during 2024.

Superb teams

Horse Sport Ireland’s High Performance jumping director Michael Blake oversaw some other superb team results in 2024 and these riders featured in front page collages, starting when “The Irish show jumping team finished as runners-up after an excellent performance in the opening leg of the new five-star Longines League of Nations series. Sligo’s Richard Howley, Tipperary’s Denis Lynch, Louth’s Mark McAuley and Kildare’s Mikey Pender finished the thrilling two-round contest on a score of 12 faults” (February 17th).

Moving on to “Cian O’Connor, Shane Sweetnam, Bertram Allen, Denis Lynch and Michael Blake after the Irish team won the Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup at the CHIO Aachen 2024” (July 6th).

Senior riders also featured when “Niamh McEvoy (Orange de Baugy) and Mikey Pender (HHS Mercedes) won gold and Michael Duffy (BP Royalty) bronze at the WBFSH World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in Lanaken, Belgium last weekend” (September 28th).

The sole underage show jumping squad to make the front page of the IHW in 2024 was “The Irish young rider team of Rhys Williams, Niamh McEvoy, Tom Wachman, Francis Derwin and Max Wachman, with chef d’equipe James Kernan, after they won back-to-back gold medals at the FEI Young Rider European Championships in Kronenberg, The Netherlands. Inset: Francis Derwin went on to win individual silver with Flexi K” (July 27th).

Eventing success

In a senior team context, Ireland’s best performance on the 2024 international eventing stage came late in the season in The Netherlands.

While photographed in the inside pages of the Irish Horse World parading with Padraig McCarthy, Austin O’Connor and Aoife Clark, the front cover featured “Susie Berry and Clever Trick (ISH) helped Ireland to win the FEI Eventing Nations Cup Final and finished sixth individually at Boekelo CSIO4*-L last weekend” (October 19th).

That photograph of England-based Co Down-born Berry was taken on the cross-country phase, as was that of “Ireland’s Austin O’Connor with the legend that is Colorado Blue (Salty) on their way to delivering the fastest round of the competition to claim second place in the Grantham Cup CCI4* at Thoresby Park last weekend” (April 6th).

And, so too was that of “Small in stature but mighty in skill and determination, Wexford’s Lucy Latta skyrocketed up the leaderboard at the Badminton Horse Trials to finish second with RCA Patron Saint in what was her first-ever five-star event – resulting in plenty of Olympic buzz around the young rider” (May 18th).

Also photographed tackling a cross-country fence were “Sam Watson and Ballyneety Rocketman on their way to winning the CCI4*-L at the Millstreet International Horse Trials, where his fellow Irish riders Ian Cassells, Patrick Whelan, Jennifer Kuehnle and Robbie Kearns also pulled off an historic victory in the CCI4*-S Nations’ Cup team event” (June 8th).

Later that month, it was “Jennifer Kuehnle made her CCI5*-L debut at Luhmühlen Horse Trials, finishing with two horses inside the top 10. Pictured on cross-country with Polly Blue Eyes, who finished seventh” (June 22nd). One front page photograph was taken during the show jumping phase “Tom Nestor won the team and individual silver medal with Cooley Diamond Dancer at the FEI Eventing Junior European Championship in Strzegom, Poland” (August 31st).

Photographed during the dressage phase of two international events were “Georgie Goss and Feloupe are the best-placed Irish pair after dressage at the Badminton Horse Trials in eighth place, with all to play for...” (May 11th) and “Jennifer Kuehnle and Sammy Davis Junior were the best-placed Irish combination in the CCIO4*-S Nations’ Cup class at Millstreet International Horse Trials” (June 1st).

Special ISH

The Irish Horse World doesn’t usually feature riders of other nationalities on the front page, but did so twice in 2024 – and it was the same competitor on board two grey Irish Sport Horses.

“Britain’s Oliver Townend and the 10-year-old Irish-bred mare Cooley Rosalent, pictured during their victory lap after winning the five-star Kentucky Three-Day Event in the USA” (May 4th) and “Ballaghmor Class, ridden by Oliver Townend, is the winning-most Irish Sport Horse in the history of five-star eventing after landing his fourth victory at the level at the Mars Maryland 5-Star last weekend” (October 26th).

Photographs from the national circuit twice graced the front page of the IHW during 2024, starting with the delayed first fixture of the season “Clare Abbott and Mr Mighty pictured on their way to winning the EI115 (Open) class at Tyrella last Saturday...” (April 27th) and “Felicity Ward and Regal Bounty, winners of the EI120 at the Eventing Ireland National Championships at Kilguilkey” (September 14th).

Two front page photographs were taken at Killossery Lodge Stud. “Olivia Condon was part of the Kildare Tigers team who won Best Ride of the day at the Overlander/Irish Pony Club National Minimus Championships...” (June 29th) and “Francis Downes riding Roses Sligo Candy, winners of the RC100 Championship at the AIRC eventing championships...” (September 21st). Both Roses Sligo Candy and Condon’s mount, Ballyrue Cracker, are grey.

Hunting gems

Besides riding a grey, one had a better chance of making the front page of the Irish Horse World on the hunting field, if photographed in the first half of the season.

That was certainly true in November 2024. “Hunting is back! David Halley crossing the country with the Tipperary Foxhounds during the opening meet in Fethard” (2nd) and “Ellie Jay Carberry (11), daughter of Paul Carberry and Rachel Clarke, in action on her pony Spirit at the opening meet of the Ward Union Staghounds from Ashbourne” (9th).

Also, “International show jumper Shane Breen MFH takes the Scarteen banks in his stride on a visit home to Ireland for a day of hunting at Pallasgreen, Co Limerick” (16th); “Kildare Foxhounds’ huntsman Padhraic Moynihan calling up hounds from the meet at St Laurence’s” (23rd); and “Alison Irwin on a stunning grey at the Fermanagh Harriers ladies’ day meet at Donagh” (30th).

And it was the same throughout December. “Emma Buckley jumps off the road in style on her lovely grey horse out with the Co Limerick Foxhounds at the Cartown House lawn meet” (7th) and “Catherine Kerr hopping a ditch in fine style while whipping-in to the South County Dublin Hunt from Prosperous” (14th).

Plus, to prove he can still walk the talk “Irish show jumping High Performance manager Michael Blake enjoys a day’s hunting with the East Clare Harriers at Scarteen. Blake had plenty to celebrate last week, as Ireland was named the most successful Nations Cup team of 2024 by Swiss newspaper Pferdewoche” (21st).

To ensure inclusion of the post-Christmas racecards, The Irish Field was published again on Tuesday, December 24th, when final IHW front page of 2024 once more featured a grey horse. “Anna Lacey hailing a taxi while clearing a massive bank during a day’s hunting with the Island Foxhounds from Blackwater”.

In the second half of the 2023/2024 season, the IHW carried three front page photographs from the hunting field in January.

“Huntsman Clive Corrigan leads the hounds and mounted field of the Carlow Hunt off to the first draw from the meet at Lisnavagh on New Year’s Eve” (6th); “Ellie Spain, North Tipperary Foxhounds whip, spots her quarry away from Slattery’s Covert with Lough Derg in the background” (13th); and “Ellie-Mae Sullivan, aged nine, leaped right into the 2024 season when riding Rosie Pugh out hunting with the Louth Hounds last Saturday” (20th).

The final front page photograph of the season featured “Conal Dreelan, Joint-Master of the Islands, had his work cut out last Monday, while out on an extra meet at Killenagh in celebration of St Bridget’s Day, with what seemed to be Co Wexford’s smartest fox” (February 10th).

Awards season

A collage of photographs fronted the Irish Horse World in March 2024. “The 51st annual Irish Horse World awards celebrated the stars of the sport horse world this week” (2nd).

Bang centre of those stars was Michael Murphy, The Irish Field dressage rider of the year for 2023 and, later in the month, it was the 2022 winner of that title, who featured on the front page. “Abi Lyle of Co Down won her first ever international Grand Prix Kür (Freestyle to Music) class with Giraldo at the Addington Manor CDI last weekend” (23rd).

The showing world got a look-in at times. “Aoife Brennan and Goldengrove Sunrise won the reserve champion show hunter pony at the Clonmel Show” (July 13th); “Penny Hudson and Hudsons Mermus, the Connolly’s Red Mills ridden horse champion of champions at the Wicklow Hunt Show in Barnadown (July 20th); and, finally, “Jamie Smyth taking a lap of honour on Tattygare Me Me Me after the four-year-old mare was crowned supreme hunter champion in the Main Arena at the 2024 Dublin Horse Show” (August 24th).