Ireland announces WEG eventing squad
The eventing squad that will represent Ireland at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) this summer has been announced.
The full squad has been named as:
- Clare Abbott riding Euro Prince (owned by his breeder Cormac Mackay)
- Aoife Clark riding Fenyas Elegance (owned by her breeder PJ Hegarty) or as a direct reserve horse Vaguely North (owned by the Duchess of Bedford and Jacqueline Norris)
- Sarah Ennis riding Stellor Rebound (owned by Tom McGuinness, Nicky Potterton and the late Orla Ennis)
- Joseph Murphy riding Electric Cruise (owned by Noel Good, Joseph’s fiancé Jill, A. O’Callaghan and Michelle Nelson)
- Austin O’Connor riding Ringwood Mississippi (owned by Kate Jarvey)
- Sam Watson riding Horseware Bushman (owned by Tom MacGuinness and Sam’s parents John and Julia)
The reserves are:
- Joseph Murphy riding Sportsfield Othello (owned by his fiancé Jill, Alison Schmutz and Andrew Tinkler)
- Jim Newsam riding his own Magennis
- Michael Ryan riding Ballylynch Adventure (owned by Carol and Tom Henry and Sheila Foley)
- Camilla Speirs riding Portersize Just A Jiff (owned by his rider and her mother Bridget)
Aoife Clark has had a strong season so far winning the CCI3* at Bramham with Fenyas Elegance earlier this month (5 June). She also finished 4th in the CIC3* at Chatsworth (28 May) with Vaguely North.
The experienced combination of Sam Watson and Horseware Bushman have been selected to compete in their 5th senior championship together. Sam was forced to miss Badminton this year after dislocating his shoulder but the pair finished in 15th in the CIC3* at Tattersalls last month.
Nick Turner, Ireland’s eventing high performance team manager said: “I am delighted that we have such a strong squad to select from. The 6 riders have a wealth of experience riding horses that have good 4-star experience or very impressive wins recently at 3-star level.”
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Sophia Heath joined Horse & Hound in July 2013 having previously worked for the Daily Telegraph's Olympics website, CNN International and Omnisport. A Durham graduate with a Masters in journalism from City University, Sophia has evented, showjumped and hunted. Sophia left Horse & Hound in early 2015 to join an international boating website.