WE take this opportunity to congratulate former Irish Pony Club member Sive Brassil on her career-best eighth-place finish in last weekend’s European Modern Pentathlon championships in Hungary.

According to the Pentathlon Ireland website, Brassil, a one-time East Galway Branch member, “turned in a superbly consistent performance across all five disciplines in Sunday’s final in Székesfehérvár to highlight a season in which she has impressively picked up the baton as Ireland’s senior pentathlete in the wake of the retirements of Natalya Coyle and Arthur Lanigan-O’Keefe (other former IPC members) over the past year.”

In an 18-strong field packed with some of the biggest names in the sport, the 28-year-old, who lost just seven points in what was described as a dramatic ride phase, completed on a final tally of 1,357 points. The British duo of Charlie Follett (1,422) and Joanna Muir (1,393) won gold and silver while Hungary’s Michelle Gulyas took bronze (1,382).

“I’m over the moon with a top-eight finish in the Europeans,” said a smiling Brassil afterwards. “It was a really solid week of competition for me. I knew I had a big result coming, it was just about putting all the pieces together on the same day.

“I’m so happy and grateful to all my team and coaches,” added Brassil. “It was years in the making. This puts me in a really good place for next season and I can’t wait to build on this result.”