By Horse Sport Ireland / HSI
Photography: © Sportfot; FEI/Shannon Brinkman; FEI/Benjamin Clark
In the second of a two-part Paris-Olympic preview, we look at the Irish Sport Horse combinations selected to represent countries outside of Ireland, given the country’s stellar reputation for breeding elite three-day-event horses.
Ireland’s reputation as the best country in the world to find an elite eventing horse is made abundantly clear by the fact that seven nations are fielding Irish Sport Horses as part of their Olympic squad. And, at the time of writing, the Irish Sport Horse Studbook leads the provisional WBFSH eventing rankings last calculated in June 2024.
Brazil will be represented by the combination of Castle Howard Casanova (ISH) and Marcio Carvalho Jorge. This 2013-born gelding is by the 5*-rated sire Womanizer (KWPN) and out of the Cavalier Royale (Holst) sired mare K Cavalier Belle (ISH), bred by Susan Fitzpatrick in Co. Wicklow.This combination had a 2nd place finish in the CCI-4*-L in Sopot (POL) in 2023, as well as taking the individual silver medal in the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
This duo will be looking to build on their top 20 finish from the CCI4*-S in Luhmuhlen, (GER) and help Brazil to their first Olympic medal in eventing.
The alternate for the Brazilian team is another Irish Sport Horse, Ballypatrick SRS. Bred in Thurles, Co. Tipperary by Austin Broderick, whose son Greg represented Ireland in the 2016 Olympics with MHS Going Global (ISH). This gelding is out of Ballypatrick Romance (ISH) by Clover Hill (ID) sired by the Aga Khan Nations’ Cup of Dublin winning stallion Pacino (BWP), making him the sire of Olympic showjumping and eventing progeny in 2024, with Bertram Allen’s Pacino Amiro (ISH) being the alternate for the Irish showjumping team in Paris.
The combination of Ballypatrick SRS (ISH) and Brazilian rider Ruy Fonseca go to Paris on the back of some sterling recent performances including a 3rd place finish in the CCI4*-S in Sopot (POL) 2024, 7th in the CCI3*-S in Strzegom (POL) 2024, and an individual 12th place finish in the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
Canada: Moving north then to the Great White North of Canada, where Karl Slezak will partner Hot Bobo (ISH) to their second Championship together having finished 4th in the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. This 11-year-old mare goes to Paris in good form, having finished 2nd in the CCI4*-S in Ocala, FL (USA) and winning the CCI4*-S in Bromont QC (CAN). Bred in Co. Dublin by Emma Phelan, this mare is by VDL Arkansas (KWPN) out of the Thoroughbred mare Taney’s Leader xx (IRE) by Supreme Leader xx (TB).
Hungary sends a sole combination to the Paris Olympiad, and as a non-travelling reserve they named their alternate combination as being Noémi Viola Doerfer and Piltown Harry (ISH). This gelding was bred in Piltown, Co. Kilikenny by Patrick Doody. By Harlequin du Carel (SF) and out of the aptly named Cavalier Mare (ISH) by Cavalier Royale (Holst), this combination has had a strong 2024 so far featuring a 12th place finish in the CCI4*-S in Oudkarspel (NED), and a 7th place finish in the CCI4*-L in Sopot (POL)... To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber
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