15 Irish athletes including five Kilkenny competitors are competing at the upcoming FEI Youth Show Jumping European Championships in Italy
Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) Youth High Performance Manager James Kernan named his teams ahead of the final training session which recently took place in the National Horse Sport Arena at the Sports Campus, where HSI held a photocall with athletes, coaches, support staff and sponsors.
Sport Ireland High Performance Programme Manager Gillian Brosan attended the session and wished the athletes luck ahead of the upcoming championships, which includes three age categories, with Ireland fielding a strong team in each division.
The categories include Children on Horses (under 14), Juniors (under 18) and Young Riders (under 21). The competition officially begins on Monday July 10th and will run until Sunday July 16th at the Italian venue.
Kernan is hopefully of a strong performance following an excellent start to the season with teams competing in the FEI Youth Nations Cup series, and included team victories in Hagen and Zuidwolde.
Last year Ireland claimed team Bronze in the Junior division and Harry Allen won the individual Bronze medal in the Young Rider class. Speaking about the announcement, Kernan said: “This year I have three very good teams.
“Our Junior team has won three Nations Cups already this year and our Children on Horses won a very strong Nations Cup in Hagen, Germany last week – they were also second in Gorla Minore earlier this year.
“Our Young Riders are very consistent, they’ve all been jumping around the world and getting some great results. Max Wachman has been very consistent all year and Seamus Hughes Kennedy has been in outstanding form.
“Niamh McEvoy and her mare had a very good season last year and jumped well in Bolesworth last week while Ciaran Nallon is going very well with his new ride Fifty Shades of Grey and they were very consistence on the Sunshine Tour. Rhys Williams also won the CSI2* Grand Prix at Mullingar International.
“The horses and riders are all in great form, they’ve been in the winners enclosure all year. The Juniors have also been very strong all season and had some outstanding results.
“All-in-all they are three strong teams, hopefully with everything going according to plan we’ll be in with a fine chance of bringing home some medals. I would like to thank the parents for the continued support and GAIN Equine Nutrition for the support of the youth athletes.”
The Kilkenny competitors are listed below:
Children On Horses
Alice Moloney, from Co Kilkenny, riding Cosima
Juniors
Eoin Brennan, from Co Kilkenny, riding Eskola M
Timmy Brennan, from Co Kilkenny, riding Diadema Della Caccia
James Brennan, from Co Kilkenny, riding MHS Im The One (ISH)
Young Riders
Seamus Hughes Kennedy, from Co Kilkenny, riding ESI Rocky
