AN OUTSTANDING equestrienne, the Honourable Diana Conolly-Carew, Baroness Wrangel, will forever hold a place in the annals of Irish show jumping.

Sixty years ago, at the Dublin Horse Show of 1963, she was a member of the Irish team that captured the Aga Khan Cup, after a 14-year gap, and this was the first mixed military and civilian team to compete for Ireland in the competition. Riding the brilliant Barrymore, she joined Colonel Bill Ringrose (Loch An Easpaig), Tommy Wade (Dundrum) and Seamus Hayes (Goodbye) on the team, and they received the coveted trophy from President Eamon de Valera.

The Dublin Horse Show was a special place for Diana, and it was at the RDS that she also landed the Show Pony Championship, Hack Championship, Small Hunter Championship, Working Hunter Championship, and the Supreme Hunter Championship. Three years after her historic success in the Aga Khan Trophy for the Nations Cup, she was again in the saddle aboard Barrymore to land the Grand Prix of Ireland. That day, Diana was the only competitor to go clear over the 15 fences, and it was a point of note in all of the reports that many of the competitors found the water jump, which was 14 feet wide, to be the most difficult on the course.

It was closely followed by the first part of the double, a seemingly innocuous fence that left those competing baffled.

Important victory

This was an especially important victory for Diana and the long-striding grey Barrymore, as the combination had gone some 18 months without a win. Such was the delight of Diana’s family that the daily papers of the time, carrying the news of the triumph prominently in their pages, reported that Diana’s parents were passing glasses of champagne to the rider’s many admirers in the pocket. Another notable feature of the win was that it was a first for Diana at Dublin over fly fences, all of her previous successes being gained over banks.

In 1968, Diana and Barrymore competed for Ireland at the Olympic Games in Mexico City. While selection for the team has been called the great honour of Diana’s riding career, it was the occasion of an injury to his pedal bone that ended Barrymore’s international career.

Now living about 15 minutes from her family home at Castletown House in Celbridge, Co Kildare, Diana recently returned there for the opening of an exhibition to celebrate her Aga Khan victory six decades ago. This free to enter display will run until the end of September, and is a must for anyone interested in one of the great pairings in Irish show jumping history. Even better would be to take a guided tour of the house, and learn of its great history.

A couple of weeks ago, Diana’s brother and sister-in-law, Lord Patrick and Lady Celia Carew, visited the exhibition and gave, on loan, a photograph of their marriage. Included among the bridal party was Lady Carew’s cousin, Queen Camilla.

Magic horse

Interviewed a few years ago by Michael Slavin for the Irish Farmers Journal, Diana spoke glowingly about her former star, saying: “He was a magic horse to ride”.

Found in Cork by a former groom at Castletown House, Barrymore was purchased by Diana’s mother as a five-year-old for £240. Diana continues the story. “He had done absolutely nothing when he came to us. By Oxonian, and rich in thoroughbred blood, he was very hot. At the time we had a groom named Tom Tynan, who was at long-reining. When I first backed him, I found him to be a lovely mover, and the most special horse I ever rode.”

Named after a famous film star, “because he was such a beautiful horse”, Barrymore and his rider enjoyed a prolific decade of success at the highest level. They enjoyed success in 10 of the 14 countries in which they competed, and came within a whisker of landing some of the world’s most prestigious trophies.

The story of the prized pairing of Diana and Barrymore began with success in the hack class at Dublin, and, thanks to his love of banks, the grey gelding competed in five Hickstead Derbys, twice occupying the runner-up spot. On one occasion the pair were beaten by Nelson Pessoa in a jump off, and the following year knocked the last, putting them again in second place. Such was Barrymore’s versatility that he and Diana were winners of a puissance in Portugal. They also were named on five Aga Khan teams in Dublin.

Exhibition details

Diana, Barrymore and the Aga Khan is free to visit at Castletown House (W23 V9H3). It is open to the public from 10am to 4pm. Originally scheduled to run until September 1st, the guides say that it will continue until the end of September. For further details visit Castletown.ie, telephone 01-6288252 or email castletown@opw.ie