DANIELLE Quinlan had a smile that would light up a room even on the darkest of days. In the days that followed her passing on December 2nd last, mourners were reminded once again of that beautiful smile in the many gorgeous photographs adorning her family home at Bishopland.

The tributes that followed also proved just how popular she was.

Dani, as she was fondly known, was incredibly sociable. She knew everyone and was loved by all wherever she went.

From show jumping to racing and working as a chef, Dani was a woman of many talents and packed so much into her 40 years. She always did so with a positive attitude.

Born on March 26th 1983, Dani was the middle child of Paddy and Eilis – with Wendy four years older, and Jonathan (Bud) four years younger.

All three were introduced to ponies from a young age.

In her early school days, Dani was also immersed in farming and was happy to muck in, even on Christmas Day for milking.

Dani attended the Blessington No 1 and later Alexandra College for her secondary education.

Both her parents competed in show jumping, Paddy at Grand Prix level and Eilis in the amateurs. On any given Sunday, the lorry would have a bit of everything on it.

Everyone could jump during the day, but they would all have to be home – with horses and ponies sorted for the night – in time for Glenroe and BLTs at 8.30pm.

Ponies were brought on and sold from Bishopland, but she did campaign the 148cm Sea Waze and Tullylast Louis for her father and they both got to Grade B.

She also rode the Grade A 138cm gelding Tasman Archer for Seamus Cullen.

Dani was an incredibly brave rider and made a smooth transition to horses. She loved racing too and rode out for her father whenever she was home. She also regularly visited her uncles, Michael and Noel Quinlan, when they were training out of Newmarket.

Track time

In 2000, while just 18, she got an opportunity to ride in the MS Charity Stakes at Fairyhouse. JT Gorman kindly sat her up on Nero’s Dancer for the race. The son of Nero Astaire didn’t have great form and was actually 100/1 on the Tote, so nobody really fancied them. What a pleasant surprise they got when Dani crossed the line in front by three-quarters of a length.

Not surprisingly, this fantastic win gave Dani an appetite for more. In total, she had 22 rides on the track – in bumpers and Ladies’ Races, for her father, Declan Leigh, Denis Cullen and close family friend, Jim Bolger. Dani was back in the winner’s enclosure at Roscommon in 2008 on her father’s Gortnahulla.

Danielle Quinlan in 2008 after she had ridden her first winner aboard her father's Gortnahulla \ Healy Racing

Dani also ventured onto the point-to-point track – just the once though at Punchestown in February 2006 on her father’s own Archie Cummins. “Our mother wouldn’t have survived her doing another one,” recalled Wendy.

One day in the late 1990s, a ‘scrawny’ looking mare came off the lorry at Bishopland. An ex-trotter, she didn’t know how to canter, but with the gentle encouragement of first Wendy, then Dani, that mare, Ciao Bella, proved to be a fantastic servant.

With Dani in the saddle, she jumped to 1.40m and placed second in the Young Riders at Hickstead. The mare was later sold abroad and won a Volvo car for her new owners.

Kitchen talents

Dani was a gifted cook. She attended Ballymaloe and also did a course in butchery and trained to be a sommelier.

She was not too fond of the classroom setting, so preferred short practical courses to build up her knowledge.

While in Ireland, she worked as a chef at such well-known restaurants as The Ballymore Inn and Lemongrass in Naas. It was through Lemongrass that she met her close friend, Paul Behan.

Dani didn’t like leaving home - she was such a home-bird – but she always wanted to prove herself and did numerous stints as a chef abroad for a few months at a time. She worked as a private chef at the ski resort Morzine, as well as being a galley cook on a charter in Australia, a private cook in a villa in Majorca and a private cook on a yacht in Italy.

She was also in the Caribbean as a private chef on the luxury yachts and was part of the catering crew at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Dani’s cooking interests even earned her a place on Master Chef in 2012.

Dani loved getting stuck into a job – no matter how messy it was. Her father kept a few pigs and one day they decided to slaughter one for the freezer. A vegan guest was staying over at the time and looked out the window one morning to admire the view. To their shock, they instead spotted the pig hanging from the fork of the tractor, with Dani busy cleaning it out.

Dani was thrilled to get the opportunity to ride at the Dublin Horse Show in 2013. Her father’s 148cm Connemara stallion Blackwoodland Rock was being aimed at the European Championships with Mikey Pender and, for a warm-up, placed second in the Connemara Performance class with Dani in the saddle.

Blackwoodland Rock went on to place individually with Mikey and, a few years later, won team bronze for Dutch rider Julia Engelsman.

Danielle, Paddy and Eilis Quinlan in May 2019

Hunting

Dani enjoyed fox-hunting, but in February 2020 she suffered a serious fall while jumping a wall. She was airlifted to Tallaght Hospital, where she was diagnosed with cracked vertebrae in her neck and back, in addition to a cracked jaw, a punctured lung and cracked ribs - although it is thought they might have been from a different fall. Had it not been for the quick thinking of Margaret O’Connor, a nurse who was following on foot, the outcome could have been much worse.

She spent a month in an induced coma and another week in hospital before being discharged days before lockdown in early March.

Dani couldn’t get home quick enough, and it later emerged that she had sat up on a horse that very same day.

Tragically, Dani was diagnosed with cervical cancer in early 2021.

Despite the harrowing diagnosis, she fought every step of the way and underwent treatment in America.

“Dani was always a fighter and, to be honest, we didn’t even think she’d live to see Christmas in 2022,” Wendy said.

In her final few months, Dani spent some time in the care of St Bridget’s Hospice on the Curragh.

“They truly were amazing and we would like to thank them all.”

On November 12th last, Dani was so happy to be able to watch The Diddler make her debut at Naas. Dani had picked her up at Goffs as a three-year-old in 2021.

The Diddler was a nickname given to Dani by her father years ago, although the exact source has never been nailed down. In her memory, The Diddler Ball will take place at the Killashee Hotel on Saturday, March 23rd. In aid of the Irish Injured Jockeys Fund, it is being organised by her brother, Jonathan.

Dani died at home on December 2nd, surrounded by her heartbroken family. Her funeral celebration took place at Newlands Cross Crematorium on Wednesday, December 6th.

Dani is survived by her parents Paddy and Eilis, sister Wendy, brother Jonathan, sister-in-law Aine, brother-in-law Alejo and nieces and nephews, Ana Ines, Tommy, Nicky, Robin and Jesse.

Dani’s warmth and her smile will stay with us always.

- Siobhan English