2019 – year of the ladies

Women came late to major international sport and the world was all the poorer for that. Since their arrival they have brought new skills, determination and a nimble grace to every contest they enter.

As our first President Douglas Hyde once wrote: “She casts a spell, oh, casts a spell.”

No wonder, then, that the RDS turned its 2019 Horse Show library exhibition into a celebration of the 100 years since women first took their place in the Main Arena’s show jumping programme.

The iconic image highlighting the event was that of the Kilkenny lady Binty Marshall clearing the stone wall at the 1919 show riding side-saddle.

Centenary

Fast forward to the 100th anniversary of women at Dublin in 2019 and we find the beautiful image of Susan Fitzpatrick jumping one of just six first round clears in the €350,000 Longines Grand Prix. Susan embodies the degree to which women have progressed within just about every phase of Irish equestrianism.

That is what I wish to highlight in this look back on the highlights of the 2019 season.

In a year where our national rugby and soccer sides left us all disappointed, it was the performances of two all-female sides that stood out.

Our ladies hockey team shone under the lights of Donnybrook to book their ticket to Japan, while in Rotterdam our four-lady team secured their place – the first time Ireland will send a dressage team to an Olympic Games.

There is no exaggerating the accomplishment by the squad of Judy Reynolds, Anna Merveldt, Heike Holstein and Kate Dwyer as they rode with poise and determination in Rotterdam to earn their place among the 10 best teams in the world going to Tokyo next August.

Up until now dressage had been the weak link of Irish equestrian as we concentrated on the jumping disciplines. But these ladies have opened a whole new chapter in Ireland’s horse history. Here’s hoping they continue delivering history in Tokyo next summer.

The image of Athlone’s Kate Derwin smiling as she rides toward the camera on the lovely grey Irish Sport Horse AHG Whiterock Cruise Down and sporting the gold medal she won at the 2019 European Championships in the Netherlands says everything about the strength of our female youth in the tough sport of international show jumping.

This joyful image of mother and daughter Tara and Lilly Oliver as they celebrated their in hand win with the pony Claudia at Charleville show is to me what our show scene is all about.

The nursery we have for young riders to thrive at shows and events around the country is rightly the envy of many nations.

Our ladies success was certainly not confined to the arena this year, with many hugely prominent in the area of horse and pony breeding as well.

Kilkenny’s Marion Hughes typifies how a number of our leading lady breeders have translated their international competition experience into producing the horses and ponies we need to stay at the sport’s top end.

Last January we featured a picture of Marion receiving her award at the Horse Sport Ireland International Breeding Conference for breeding HHS Vancouver – winner of the Young Horse gold medal under Michael Pender at Lanaken in 2018.

Hughes is just one of many women that have emerged as top class breeders. We could well have included pictures of Helen Troughton, breeder of a champion colt foal or pony breeder Sandra Barnwell for her prize winner Patch.

Creation of employment in Ireland is one of the equestrian industry’s arguments for getting Government funding. Hence during the year we were able to feature women who have achieved success within the industry.

Tara Lane (right) of Centrepiece Rosettes in Kilcock, Co Kildare is one such success story. So too is Jessica Magnier, who along with husband Colin has created a state of the art gallops in Skryne, Co Meath that services both the racing and equestrian industry. Jessica’s mother Iny jumped at the RDS in the 1950s and is part of the 100 year history of women in the sport.

Also servicing the industry is Natalie Clarke of Cavan Equestrian who set up her own clothing and tack outlet, Cladem Equi Store. And there are many more who give the special woman’s touch to creating employment opportunities around the country.

No picture that we used this year tells the story of women in equestrian sport better than that taken during the presentation of the Irish Horse World awards at the K Club earlier this year. Nine of the 14 trophies on offer went to women for their successes in the sport. Also pictured on that occasion was a stalwart of the equestrian press corps, Ruth Rogers, who sadly passed away soon after receiving her Lifetime Contribution award.

For many years with both camera and pen she told the story of Irish equestrianism in a most professional way.

In one of our January issues we pictured young Caoimhe McParland (above) showing a mare in the 2018 The Irish Field Breeders' Championship at Dublin. She characterises the dedication of so many ladies to our annual showing circuit. I could name hundreds but I will just mention a few here that graced our pages during the season like Rebecca Monaghan, who has had so much success both at the RDS and around the country. Then there are Balmoral winners like Jane Field and the mighty show hunter partnership of Daphne Tierney and Jane Bradbury.

It has also been a joy to see so many young girls participating in the Horse Sport Ireland Young Handlers Championship at the Nationa Ploughing Championships. So here we mention again this year’s winners Niamh Sheridan of Donegal and Kilkenny’s Roisin McGrath. They were both superb in handling their ponies.

Representing the academic side of equestrianism in our pages this year were the likes of UCD assistant professor Emmeline Hill, whose research work on horse performance is ground breaking.

Also pictured many times in our pages this season was Horse Sport Ireland breeding director Allison Corbally, whose expertise in her field is second to none and is respected right across Europe.

Speaking of expertise, we could have none better than our eventing chef d’equipe Sally Corscadden who led our squad to Olympic qualification.

For me the most emotive and telling picture that we featured this year was that of Megan Donovan as she braved the March snows as groom of Denis Hogan’s Above Lixnaw at Leopardstown. Our Irish workers in this field top the lot. In saying that, I speak from the experience of seeing grooms from across the globe in action at shows overseas. Their innovative ways of making a home from home for the horses in their care is both amazing and admirable.

I could go on. But finally for now, I would like to conclude with two beautiful pictures of young ladies with their fathers – Mary Rothwell with her dad Derry and Elizabeth Power with her dad the great Captain Con.