MacGuinness competing at World Championships in Italy

TOM MacGuinness will be Ireland’s sole representative at the Longines FEI Endurance World Championship in San Rossore, Italy, this weekend. The championships were postponed by one year due to Covid-19.

This is the third world championships for Horseware Ireland founder MacGuinness, who also lined out at the World Equestrian Games in Normandy (2014) and Tryon (2018), where he was in eighth place when the race was abandoned. He will ride Horseware Sasha D’aillais at this weekend’s event, which kicks off tomorrow (Saturday).

Co Louth native Amy Louise McAuley was also due to compete for Ireland with Faaran, but was sadly forced to withdraw when the horse was lame after their final piece of work on Tuesday when they were scheduled to depart from Dubai, where she has been based for a number of year. McAuley will still attend the championships this weekend, after which she will return to home to Ireland for now.

Speaking this week ahead of the championships, MacGuinness said: “I am really looking forward to the weekend. I am not riding my first horse, but I feel that Horseware Sasha D’aillais is up for the challenge. The aim for the Horseware team is the Europeans in September, but this will be a very good experience for the horse.”

In this year’s championship, competitors will race for an incredible 160km in the magnificent Parco Naturale Migliarino San Rossore Massaciuccoli, one of the largest and most ancient nature parks in Tuscany. In total, 81 athletes representing 32 countries and five continents will vie for medals.