THEY came, they saw and they certainly conquered!

Ireland’s underage show jumping teams have once again brought glory to our shores taking home two team golds, one individual gold and one individual silver to completely dominate the FEI Youth European Championships at Gorla Minore, Italy.

Horse Sport Ireland chef d’equipe James Kernan expertly guided his ultra talented Young Riders and Junior teams to team gold in their respective divisions and yet more was to come when Kilkenny’s Seamus Hughes Kennedy was crowned European Champion after securing individual gold and Tipperary’s Tom Wachman earned individual silver. What glory they have brought to our small island!

It’s what dreams are made of and we are so proud of them all with this magnificent performance on the hugely competitive European stage and in blistering temperatures to boot.

Ireland’s show jumping youth riders are truly the envy of the world with this stunning performance.

Hats off to our wonderfully talented young riders and to their supportive parents and families, breeders, coaches, veterinary and farrier support. There is a small village of support behind coveted podium places at this level and there was also no shortage of senior show jumping riders on the sidelines in Italy to lend expertise and support throughout the Championships, (see Judith Faherty’s Championships reports on pages 78-79).