THERE was a resounding theme of young stars at Horse Sport Ireland’s Athlete Reception, held at the Killashee House Hotel in Naas, Co Kildare, on Tuesday.

It was an opportunity for the stars of the sport to look back on the year of competition and celebrate their achievements. While the pandemic continued to cause problems in many ways, 2021 saw the both senior and youth championships return in spectacular fashion, headed of course by the delayed Tokyo Olympic Games, where Ireland were represented by teams in show jumping, eventing and para dressage, plus individually in dressage.

Cian O’Connor, Sarah Ennis, Heike Holstein, Michael Murphy and Rosemary Gaffney were all present after their trip to Tokyo and spoke about their future ambitions for Paris, which is just around the corner in 2024.

However, underage stars took centre stage on the day. Ireland won three team medals across eventing and show jumping at underage European championships, while Ben Connors also brought home an individual silver on his first championship outing.

Then there was a stunning gold medal at the Under 14 European carriage driving championships for Tipperary’s Kris Rohrssen, highlighting the wide ranging talents Ireland has to offer in the equestrian sphere.

Kris Rohrssen, centre, with family members during the Horse Sport Ireland Athlete Reception \ Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Ben Connors said it was “an amazing feeling” to come home from his first championships with two medals, while gold medal winner Kris Rohrssen said: “It is really exhilarating driving a marathon. It is like go-cart racing with horses; it shows you can do so much with horses but it has to have a theme to work together in one unit.”

Acting CEO of Horse Sport Ireland, Joe Reynolds, opened the event by welcoming athletes, parents, coaches, sponsors and industry stakeholders. He acknowledged how tough the past 18 months have been in a Covid-19 centred world, and remembered Grace Tyrell and Tiggy Hancock, who both tragically passed away in the last 12 months and were in the thoughts of everyone on the day.

“Sport should always be about athletes. Unfortunately that is not always the case, sometimes the athletes take second place to politics that are going on at any one time, but today I can guarantee you is the athletes’ day… that is what we are here for,” commented Reynolds.

L-r: Horse Sport Ireland Acting CEO Joe Reynolds, HSI senior high performance show jumping manager Michael Blake, Irish Olympic show jumping athlete Cian O’Connor, Geraldine Allen, Catherine Kenny and Team Ireland Chef de Mission Patricia Heberle\ Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Bright future

Mentioning the medal-winning haul by underage athletes, Reynolds added: “The future looks good, there are a lot of riders coming through. It is the job of HSI and also the affiliates to nurture that talent. What sets those young people apart is they have got this natural ability with the horse and a desire to win. Nothing trumps the desire to win.”

He ended by thanking the owners – “without them we have nothing” and the sponsors who support HSI year in, year out.

Joanne Hurley, Irish Country Manager at Gain Equine Nutrition, main sponsors of the youth teams, said the company is “hugely proud” of the achievements of underage teams in 2021. “It is the ninth year we have been sponsors of the youth teams with Horse Sport Ireland. After a very difficult 2020, these guys went out to European Championships again in 2021 and they did us really really proud. It is great to be involved with the future stars of our sport. They are stars today and many of them will be stars in the future at senior level, I have no doubt.”

Sean Monaghan, Liam Buckley, James Kernan and Kayleigh Soden during the Horse Sport Ireland Athlete Reception at at Killashee House Hotel / Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Underage medal-winning team managers James Kernan (show jumping), Sue Shortt (eventing, young riders) and Becky Cullen (eventing, ponies) were all recognised for their roles in the development of the young athletes, and they all thanked their backroom staff and the parents who make it all possible.

The youth athletes were presented with specially commissioned equestrian-themed pieces of art, while Olympic athletes each received personalised framed photographs.

Paralympians Rosemary Gaffney and Michael Murphy at the Horse Sport Ireland Athlete Reception at at Killashee House Hotel / Seb Daly/Sportsfile

More pictures from the event on page 92.

ATHLETES HONOURED

U14 European carriage driving gold medallist - Kris Rohrssen

GAIN Irish U16 eventing squad, bronze medal - Ben Connors (individual silver) Caoimhe Crozier, Sarah Keane, Ted O’Leary, Grace Murtagh, Rachel Lucey, team manager Becky Cullen

GAIN Irish U21 eventing squad, silver medal - Brian Kuehnle, Jennifer Kuehnle, Jim Tyrell, Alannah Kelly, Zara Nelson, Heather O’Connor, team manager Sue Shortt

GAIN Irish U21 show jumping team, silver medal - Kayleigh Soden, Sean Monaghan, Harry Allen, Jack Ryan and Jason Foley, team manager James Kernan. Also acknowledged Acting chef d’equipe at the championship - Liam Buckley

Olympic jumping squad - Cian O’Connor, Bertram Allen, Darragh Kenny, Shane Sweetnam, Michael Duffy, team manager Michael Blake

Olympic eventing squad - Sam Watson, Sarah Ennis, Austin O’Connor, Cathal Daniels, Joseph Murphy, team manger Sally Corscadden

Olympic dressage athlete - Heike Holstein

Paralympic squad - Michael Murphy, Tamsin Addison, Kate Kerr-Horan, Rosemary Gaffney, team manager Debora Pijpers