CATHAL Daniels produced yet another fantastic result for Irish eventing last weekend when claiming the European bronze medal to stand on the podium in Luhmühlen with German legends Ingrid Klimke and Michael Jung.

The 22-year-old was riding the smallest horse in the field – the now famous 12-year-old chesnut mare Rioghan Rua. Our contributor Margie McLoone was in Germany for the championships and has an interview with Rioghan Rua’s owner, Mags Kinsella, on page 97.

You can feel her excitement and passion for the sport coming out through the article. It brought me to thinking about owners in Ireland and how fortunate our event riders are at the moment, with owners like Kinsella breeding and keeping their horses in the country.

There are many many others worth mentioning, and the likes of Diane Brunsden and Peter Cattell supporting Padraig McCarthy with a five-star horse in Leonidas II is a huge boost to Team Ireland chef d’equipe Sally Corscadden moving forward and looking toward Tokyo.

Ireland’s show jumping team, however, have lost a potential championship horse in Fellow Castlefield who was sold to Greek shipping heiress Athina Onassis in recent weeks. In what was a fantastic sale for Susan Fitzpatrick and her family, it will be somewhat disappointing for the Irish selectors who were bouncing up and down after their incredible performance in the Dublin Grand Prix last month and mentioning her name for more team appearances.

The horse, who was on the winning Nations Cup teams in Drammen and Uggerhalne in May, is a credit to 20-year-old Susan and her team, who produced him since a three-year-old, and there is no doubt she will get another horse to this level again.

This is the second high profile superstar Onassis, worth an estimated €1 billion, has bought from Ireland, and while she buys plenty of horses all around the world, it is another sign of the excellent production the young horses get here on the Emerald Isle.

Praying for Kevin

We are all sparing a thought for Tipperary show jumper Kevin Babington as he remains in hospital after a crashing and life changing fall at the Hampton Classic Horse Show last Friday. The equestrian community are the best in the world for coming together when it matters the most, and the way they have rallied around Babington and his family is heart warming.

It is a reminder that accidents can happen to even the best in the world, and he is one of those. We hope to bring you good news about his injury in the weeks to come.