TAYLOR Vard has been named as Ireland’s young horse show jumping team manager until 2027.

Vard will once again lead the Irish teams for the 2025 FEI World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) Jumping World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in Lanaken and WBFSH Studbooks Jumping Global Champions Trophy in Valkenswaard.

These events give breeders of Irish Sport Horses (ISH) and Irish Warmbloods (WSI) the unique opportunity to represent both team Ireland and their studbook at young horse championship events on the world stage.

Vard has been reappointed to the roles following two successful campaigns at the helm, which delivered numerous Irish medals and team placings at the championships in 2023 and 2024.

Vard has been heavily involved in Irish senior show jumping teams over the past two decades, acting as chef d’equipe for numerous Nations Cup teams, and was on the ground as Ireland finished second in the EEF Series Final in Warsaw last September. He has also served in an advisory capacity across several High Performance programmes, including for the Irish team that won gold at the 2017 European Championship in Gothenburg.

Vard is the current deputy chef d’equipe for Michael Blake’s senior Irish show jumping squad, who lead the standings in the 2025 Longines League of Nations.

Speaking about his reappointment, Vard said: “It is an honour to be asked to take up the position as chef d’equipe for Lanaken and Valkenswaard for another term. The Irish studbooks, teams and athletes have enjoyed fantastic success over the past two years, and I’m delighted to be working with Horse Sport Ireland again in 2025 as we bid to emulate that success.

“I would like to thank the team at HSI for their continued support of the Lanaken and Valkenswaard teams and athletes and I’m very much looking forward to the selection process, as well as the championships themselves.

“We all know of the prestige of a Lanaken medal, but I am also excited by the prospect of growing the team and participation of our Irish combinations at Valkenswaard.

“Lanaken is more set up for the professional combinations, both rider and horse, where they jump the finals at heights 1.30m, 1.40m and 1.45m as they go through the five-, six- and seven-year-old categories, and it’s against the clock.

“That isn’t so much the case in Valkenswaard, and the clock element is not there, so it really is an opportunity to develop young horses and develop riders. It is an excellent competition which gives athletes an opportunity to ride on an Irish team and in a nations cup style competition. We have a strong reputation in Lanaken, and I want to support team Ireland to gain the same reputation for success at Valkenswaard.”