SIRIUS is known the world over as the very brightest star in the sky.

A blue-white star it is over 25 times as luminous as the sun. Sirius truly lights up the night sky for all of us here on earth.

Our hearts, minds, and souls are heavy with the very untimely loss of our rising star, Tiggy Hancock, in the most tragic of falls at an organised training event on Wednesday.

A brilliant rider, who lived for her ponies and riding, Tiggy had the equestrian world at her feet.

In her all too brief life, Tiggy brought the joy of youth, energy, fun, topped off with an armful of stunning achievements from the show ring, show jumping, and eventing.

Her many achievements are absolutely extraordinary - her BSPS Gold Cup wins (2017-2019) where she consistently beat the best of the best; her team bronze at the 2019 Pony European Championships; her CCI1* - Intro win at Kilguilkey International last August and her most recent strong outing at Millstreet International’s CCI2*-S with her team bronze partner Coppenagh Spring Sparrow.

No words can take away the terrible pain of this week’s tragic events.

Our hearts go out to Tiggy’s devastated family, relatives, and her wide circle of friends. Our thoughts are also very much with Tiggy’s team mates, their parents, all her coaches, and the staff at Horse Sport Ireland at this time.

In the night sky, Sirius now has a serious rival to contend with.

Our rising star has now become our brightest star.

Tiggy’s bright light shines on.

The Irish Field extends its deepest sympathies to Tiggy’s family, friends, and coaches.