Irish Olympic Eventing Team has been officially selected

News in from Horse Sport Ireland

Team Ireland has officially selected the Show Jumping, Eventing and Dressage athletes and horses who will compete at the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer. The majority of the Equestrian events take place in the original arena that hosted the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Equestrian Park, with the Eventing Cross-Country taking place on the Sea Forest Cross-Country Course. Starting on the Saturday 24 July with Dressage, the equestrian schedule runs through to Saturday 7 August, with the finals of the Jumping.

Speaking ahead of the Olympic Games Team Ireland Chef de Mission for Tokyo 2020, Tricia Heberle, highlighted the standard of the team,

“This equestrian team can really do something in Tokyo. Right across the three disciplines there are proven performers, including of course, Cian, our Olympic Bronze Medallist. We also have world medallists and regular podium finishers across the board, with the Eventing Team consisting of some of the 2019 World Medallists. We are also delighted to have the experience of Heike on the team, who is embarking on her fourth Olympics. We are really looking forward to following the team in Tokyo.”

EVENTING

The Irish Eventing team selected for the Games includes three members of the team that secured Olympic qualification when winning the team silver medal at the 2018 World Championships – becoming the first Irish team in any sport to qualify for Tokyo.

The team includes Ireland’s top-ranked Eventing rider Cathal Daniels, Sam Watson who has competed at three World Championships and Sarah Ennis who finished fifth individually at the 2018 World Championships. Austin O’Connor, who represented Ireland at two previous Olympic Games, at Sydney in 2000 and Beijing in 2008, has also been selected as P Alternate rider.

The Irish Eventing team includes no less than three Irish Sport Horses. Cathal Daniels rides Rioghan Rua (ISH) , Sam Watson partners Tullabeg Flamenco (ISH), Sarah Ennis will ride Horseware Woodcourt Garrison (ISH) and Austin O’Connor is selected with Colorado Blue.

Eventing team manager Sam Watson added:

“Personally, it’s a huge honour to get the opportunity to represent Ireland at an Olympic Games. I have three World Championships and five Europeans under my belt, but this will be a first Games. It will be something that my own support team and family will cherish, but it’s business as usual for me right now.

On a broader note, I think Tokyo 2020 is a massive moment for us all. It’s a symbol of our ability to survive and, ultimately, to thrive. Global governing bodies, national sporting bodies and individual coaches, managers and support staff have really put their hearts and soles into making this possible. It’s been the same for athletes too, and it’s seriously tough on the ones that won’t make it there after all their effort, but as someone who now has the chance, I’ll be putting everything into these next few weeks to get a result for the country.”

Horse Sport Ireland Eventing High Performance Director Sally Corscadden said:

“It is a huge honour and privilege to be representing Team Ireland at the Tokyo Olympics.  The squad, coaches and support staff have worked incredibly hard to prepare for the challenges of travelling and competing horses on the other side of the world. It is an enormous logistical operation and we couldn’t do it without the great staff in HSI and the fantastic support of the OFI and Sport Ireland.

With the new format it was never going to be an easy selection and I would like to thank all the squad members for their input and engagement over the past two and a half years. They have really made Eventing in Ireland very competitive and raised the bar.  This will be the toughest competition in so many ways, but we are lucky to have such experienced and professional athletes to call upon.

You can be sure that we will be going there to do our best and wish to make Eventing Ireland and all our supporters proud of our performances on the world stage.”

The officially selected Eventing combinations for the Olympic Games are: