Darragh Kenny, Ireland’s highest-rated rider at No 8 in the Longines FEI world rankings, was crowned The Irish Field/Irish Horse World leading show jumper of 2019 at an awards’ lunch held in The K Club, Co Kildare on Monday.
The Co Offaly native, who is based between the United States and Europe, won two five-star Grands Prix with his top mount, Balou du Reventon, in 2019 - the €500,000 Rolex Grand Prix in Knokke, Belgium, at the beginning of July and, two weeks later, in Chantilly, France where he scooped €99,000. He earned €250,000 when runner-up in the prestigious Super Grand Prix of Prague in December.
Kenny, who was part of the Irish team which qualified for this summer’s Tokyo Olympic Games when winning the Longines FEI Nations’ Cup final at Barcelona in October, is currently competing in Florida so was represented on Monday by his mother, Catherine.
Leo Powell, editor of The Irish Field, presented the junior show jumper of the year award to Co Tipperary’s Max Wachman, grandson of Coolmore Stud owner, John Magnier. The 16-year-old, who has since progressed to horses, won team and individual gold at last year’s FEI European pony championships at Strzegom, Poland riding the Irish Sport Horse mare Cuffesgrange Cavalidam.
For the sixth time in succession, and the seventh in total, the dressage rider of the year award was presented to Kildare’s Judy Reynolds who flew in for the function from her base in Germany.
The 38-year-old, who is ranked 12th in the FEI dressage world rankings, was a member of Ireland’s all-female team which qualified at the European championships at Rotterdam in August for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games - the first time Ireland has ever qualified a team for the Olympics in this discipline. Reynolds broke all Irish records in 2019 when finishing fifth individually where she recorded a personal best score in the freestyle to music with Vancouver K.
Co Galway’s Margarita Daniels was at The K Club to represent her son Cathal, the senior event rider of the year who is currently in Portugal where the 2020 European international season commences this week.
Daniels, who is a prolific winner on the national circuit, is ranked 11th in the FEI eventing world rankings. The 23-year-old claimed the individual bronze medal for Ireland at the 2019 European Championships at Luhmuhlen, Germany with the Irish Sport Horse mare Rioghan Rua, joining a group of just four riders to win an individual senior European eventing medal for this country.
The junior event rider of the year award was presented to Co Westmeath’s Chloe Fagan who last year won the Horseware Ireland CCIJ2* competition at the Tattersalls international horse trials with Versace Biscuit. At the Junior European championships in Maarsbergen, The Netherlands, the combination finished best of the Irish individually in seventh.
Also on Monday, awards were presented to the Gain Nutrition and The Irish Field stars of the month for 2019 with the December winner, Mikey Pender, being crowned the overall Gain sports star of the year.
From Co Kildare, Pender was the youngest winner of the world famous Hickstead Derby last June at the age of just 19. Other top international results from 2019 included winning two silver medals at the world breeding championships for young show jumping horses at Lanaken, Belgium in September and the Puissance competitions at both London Olympia and the Liverpool international horse show in December.
This newspaper’s equestrian correspondent, Margie McLoone, a former assistant editor of The Irish Field, was presented with the contribution to the industry award by Leo Powell.
