THE annual Irish Horse World awards took place on Monday last at The K Club in Straffan, Co Kildare, where both emerging and well-established stars of the sport were honoured.
The talent pool in the room was deep, and a common quip mentioned throughout the day was that we are in the midst of a golden age for equestrian sport in Ireland.
It was heartening to see some of the pony show jumpers present embrace the opportunity to mingle with senior show jumping chef d’equipe Michael Blake, who very generously offered them some sage advice - stay in school!
“Stay in school, at least until Leaving Certificate,” he said. “It will always stand to you, first because we can’t ignore that the business side of our sport has become such a big element of success, but more importantly because it will prove to yourself and others that you can stick at something and see it through, so stay in school!”
While those pony jumpers seemed happy to listen to Blake’s advice, they appeared a little more excited to see one of their heroes appear on screen via live feed from Wellington, Florida.
Unable to attend in person due to the Winter Equestrian Festival currently underway there, Francis Derwin Jnr was determined to make an appearance when he learned he was to be named overall Star of the Year in The Irish Field/Gain Equine Nutrition awards, as well as earning the coveted The Irish Field Junior Show Jumper of the year gong.
“It is a huge honour to be recognised at home, and by the paper I grew up reading,” he said. “I have had an amazing year and I hope there are even bigger things to come. Of course, none of this would be possible without the incredible support I get from my family and my team, so a huge thank you to them too. These awards really do mean so much.”
At just 20, Derwin Jnr took the international show jumping scene by storm in 2024 with an incredible list of results, culminating in a team gold and individual silver medal at the FEI Young Rider European Championships in Kronenberg aboard the Irish Sport Horse Flexi K, who is owned by his father, Francis Snr.
Among the other highlights of the year was a fabulous five-star international win on the opening day of the Dublin Horse Show with Parvati AEG, and a four-star 1.50m win in Morocco with Flexi K. With Parvati AEG, Francis went on to win his first three-star Grand Prix in Vejer de la Frontera in November, before rounding out the year with an Under 25 win at the prestigious CHI Geneva.
Francis Snr was in the room to accept his son’s awards, along with his own mother and proud Derwin matriarch, Anne Derwin.
Irish Field Editor Mark Costello, Horse World Editor Judith Faherty and Phillip Gilligan of Gain Equine Nutrition present the overall Star of the Year award to Francis and Anne Derwin on behalf of winner Francis Derwin Jnr \ Lorraine O’Sullivan
The Irish Field gave out awards in four other categories – Dressage Rider of the Year, Senior Event Rider of the Year, Junior Event Rider of the Year, and Senior Show Jumper of the Year.
Some 12 awards were also presented to the monthly winners of The Irish Field/Gain Equine Nutrition Star of the Month from throughout 2024 (see opposite page) along with two surprise special recognition awards for contribtion to the industry.
Senior Show Jumper of the Year
For the second year in a row, Daniel Coyle was named The Irish Field Senior Show Jumper of the Year. Daniel had an incredibly consistent record at the highest level in 2024, with 13 victories and 29 podium finishes in FEI competitions. Eight of those wins came at five-star level and include World Cup victories in Leipzig and Amsterdam with the great Legacy, as well as five-star wins in Dublin, London and Rotterdam with Incredible, and Toronto and Calgary with Farrel. Another big victory was four-star World Cup in Ocala with Incredible.
Daniel was part of the winning team at the Longines League of Nations in Ocala aboard Legacy and the mare went on to be crowned the ‘Horse of the League of Nations’ for the most double clears.
Not forgetting the Olympic Games in Paris, where Daniel and Legacy wowed the nation with three incredible clear rounds over the first three days of jumping. Daniel was unable to appear live at the event, as he was recovering from a medical procedure.
Senior Event Rider of the Year
It will come as no surprise to members of the eventing fraternity that Wexford’s Lucy Latta earned herself the award of Senior Event Rider of the Year, due mainly to her phenomenal second place finish at the Mars Badminton Horse Trials in May. Riding the Lesley Crampton-owned Irish Sport Horse RCA Patron Saint, the pair took their first-ever five-star and Badminton by storm, when climbing 43 places on the leaderboard to land Ireland’s best finishing place at the event in 59 years, just missing out on victory by two penalty points.
27-year-old Lucy balances working full-time with competing a small number of event horses and proved she has what it takes to compete at the highest level. Lucy was thrilled to accept the award in person and said she was hoping to return to Badminton again this year with ‘Paddy’ for another run at the title.
Lucy Latta is presented with her award from William Minchin, CEO of the Agricultural Trust at the Irish Horse World Awards for 2024 \ Lorraine O’Sullivan
“Looking back, Badminton week was a bit of a blur, but I will never forget that cross-country round,” Lucy said while graciously accepting her award. “He gave me an unbelievable ride and I honestly believe he is among the best cross-country horses in the world. I am so grateful to my owner Lesley and to my family for all their support. My cousin Esib Power was with me every step of the way with invaluable advice, so I’m very lucky.”
Lucy also mentioned the admiration she had for her uncle, the late great Captain Con Power, who passed away before Christmas.
“It’s bittersweet to think about it now, but I know he was so proud to see me getting my chance to go around Badminton, come home safely and then to get second, he was thrilled.”
Lucy said as someone who works full-time, that finding time for her passion was at times a challenge, but she was happy to show that it can be done.
“Time management is one of my best skills at this point,” she joked, “that’s the only way to make it work. But I’m glad that I can show that, while it’s a challenge to balance both, it can be good to have an element of both worlds and that you can pursue both your profession and your passion successfully. I’m so excited about the year to come and there’s no other horse I’d rather be riding.”
Junior Event Rider of the Year
Eighteen-year-old Tom Nestor from Kildare had a season to remember in 2024, culminating in a team and individual silver medal at the FEI European Eventing Championships for Juniors in Strzegom aboard the Irish Sport Horse Cooley Diamond Dancer.
That combination started the year in wonderful form, winning the CCI2*-L at Ballindenisk International, as well as the EI115 at both Lisgarvan and Kilguilkey House. Those results secured his place on the junior team, where he went on to take the individual silver medal, just 2.2 penalties behind Germany’s Hannah Busch.
Tom also enjoyed plenty of success on both the national and international circuit with the Irish Sport Horse Coolafancy. The pair were runner-up in Ash Hollow and Clyda before finishing out the season with second place in the CCIJ2*-S at Charlbury International.
Tom took the afternoon off from his Leaving Certificate studies at Newbridge College to accept his award in person and explained, while he hopes to continue with his eventing career, a college degree will be the next step upon completion of school.
“I had a great year and I must put a huge amount of that down to my trainers, Tom Walsh and Heike Holstein. Tom has helped me turn my show jumping inside out and Heike just continually helps me shave marks off my dressage scores and that has really helped my results.
“There is nothing better to me than the jumping phases, but without the dressage going well you are in trouble, so it is very important to me to be continuously improving and my trainers are amazing for that.
“I’m heading into my Leaving Cert and, while I’ll definitely continue to focus on my riding, I hope to go on to college to study commerce.”
Sarah Slattery, Anne Derwin (on behalf of her grandson Francis Jnr), Lucy Latta, Tom Nestor and Michael Blake (on behalf of Daniel Coyle) at the Irish Horse world Awards 2025 \ Lorraine O’Sullivan
Dressage Rider of the Year
Sarah Slattery (34) has taken the para dressage world by storm over the last 24 months and has risen to number 10 in the latest Grade V world rankings. Sarah, the newly minted 2024 Dressage Rider of the Year, only made her championship debut in 2023, sitting up on her mount Savona for the first time five weeks after giving birth to her second child and four months before the 2023 European Championships in Riesenbeck. Since then, a continual improvement in scores into the 2024 season saw them selected for their Paralympic debut in Paris.
Sarah delivered for team Ireland in Paris, with a team score of 68.895%, which would see Ireland complete in 10th place. With just a couple of hours to prepare after the last-minute call-up for the Grade V Freestyle final, Sarah and Savona delivered the test of their lives on the biggest para dressage sporting stage in the world, scoring 71.795% to move up to seventh place.
Sarah was thrilled to accept the award at the event, just the third para dressage rider to do so, and said that 2024 had been a ‘wonderful whirlwind’.
“Honestly, if you had told me in 2023 that this is where we would end up, I wouldn’t have believed you,” she told the room.
“We had gone to Paris with the goal of riding a really good individual test on the Wednesday, so we could get on the team. I hadn’t even thought about the Freestyle. We had made one and I had just ridden it once at home, because my mother, Linda, insisted but for me and my trainer, the goal was the team and I thought I will never make the Freestyle! So to get the call up with just a couple of hours to practice and then to get that result is just amazing.”
Despite promising her husband they would concentrate on building their house this year, Slattery said qualifying for the Europeans was her goal for the year, and her campaign begins with a trip to Doha later this month.
Judith Faherty with Michael Blake and Sally Parkyn who were recognised with Special Contribution Awards at the Irish Horse world Awards 2025 \ Lorraine O’Sullivan
Special Contribution Awards
Other special awards were given out on the the day to two outstanding individuals for their fantastic contributions to the industry.
First to be announced was a clearly stunned Irish Horse World contributor, Sally Parkyn. Parkyn grew up surrounded by horses and, in her early days, was involved in show jumping. She competed herself and worked for Nelson Pessoa, Trevor Banks and Paddy McMahon. With Paddy, and owner Fred Hartill, Sally travelled the world with the great horse Pennwood Forge Mill, who was European Champion and King George V Cup winner in 1973.
When Sally met Shaun Parkyn – a National Hunt jockey – in 1979, the pair turned their attention to the selling of event horses. They bought and sold several Badminton and World Championship horses in the early years, including Euphemism, Snowy River, Mungo Jerry, Harbour Lights, Chappaqua and Hallo Again.
Among some of the horses to pass through Sally and Shaun’s hands after that was the prolific five-star event horse Arctic Soul, Olympic bronze medallist and five-star winner Tankerstown, another dual Olympic horse in Lorgaine, the European horse Commanche, who holds the joint record for Badminton completions and many, many more.
With Shaun, Sally moved to Ireland in 2004 and came on board as a contributor to The Irish Field in 2006, covering sport horse sales and national and international eventing. For almost 20 years, Sally has upheld the highest standards when reporting for the paper and is truly an expert in her field.
She is also a young horse judge and a selector for the Goresbridge Go For Gold sale of event horses, among others.
“I’m absolutely stunned,” a shaking Parkyn told those in attendance. “Thank you so much. The Irish Field has been such a great supporter of mine over the years and I’ve loved every moment of it. None of it would have been possible, of course, without my husband Shaun, so this award is for him as well.”
The other Special Contribution Award went to Irish show jumping high performance manager Michael Blake, who was so elated to be recognised, he serenaded guests with a lovely rendition of Danny Boy after also speaking of his pride at the strength and depth of the top show jumping talent in Ireland, who he said always put the team first and were a credit to their country.
Michael is also a credit - he has dedicated his life to horses and show jumping. Growing up in Scariff, Co Clare, he became master and huntsman of the East Clare Harriers in his early 20s and also spent time riding in point-to-points. In the 90s, he built East Clare Equestrian Centre and hosted competitions, including four international horse shows. He still holds the world record for the bareback puissance.
In 2012, he became national SJI Young Rider chairman and had an idea to set up the International Young Rider Bursary scheme, which allowed young riders travel to Europe and American to train with international riders. He was also instrumental in developing the Young Rider Academy to help youngsters in Ireland with their business.
In 2016, he became the senior international rider’s representative and then the development manager and assistant to Rodrigo Pessoa. During that tenure, Ireland won the gold medal at the 2017 European Championships and Blake oversaw the development squad scoring multiple Nations Cup wins.
In 2019, he succeeded Pessoa as High Performance manager and chef d’equipe. Since then, Ireland have won some of the most prestigious Nations Cups in the world, including Rome for the first time ever, Dublin, Aachen and Calgary, to name a few, and 2023 saw his team take silver at the Senior European championships in Milan.
In 2024 alone, some of the Irish international achievements include two five-star Nations Cup victories for his team, with a further eight podium places at 5* and seven more wins across 3* and 4* level.
“For me, nothing is as important as the emergence of new talent,” Blake said after accepting his award. “We have a superb feeding system in place. There is no better system anywhere and what sets us apart is how Irish riders want nothing more than to represent their country, I always delight in that.
“This year, we have been invited to 13 five-star shows, you’ll get that when you are number one in the world, and we will focus on several of those, but I also want to focus on emerging riders and I’m a little disappointed we don’t have more lady riders on the team. I’d like to see more looking to compete, so my message to them is, if you have a horse who can jump, you’ll get your chance.”
Lily Tunney from Co Fermanagh, the Star of the Month for June, is presented by Katriona Kinsella from Gain Equine Nutrition \ Lorraine O’Sullivan
2024 The Irish Field Awards winner
Senior Show Jumper: Daniel Coyle
Senior Event Rider: Lucy Latta
Dressage Rider: Sarah Slattery
Junior Show Jumper: Francis Derwin Jnr
Junior Event Rider: Tom Nestor
Ian Cassells, presetned by Phillip Gilligan of Gain Equine Nutrition, was the 2024 Star of the Month for July \ Lorraine O’Sullivan
2024 Star of the Month winners
January: Marguerite Ryan
February: Oisin McDonagh
March: Sean Monaghan
April: The Under 14 Children On Horses team; Charlie Flynn, Ted Fagan, Robbie Sheehan, Sam Widger and Daisy O’Dea
May: Lucy Latta
June : Lily Tunney
July: Ian Cassells
August: Tom Nestor
September : Carolyn Mellor
October : Tom Wachman
November: Francis Derwin Jnr
December: James Derwin
Special Contribution Awards
Sally Parkyn
Michael Blake