SPOTTING potential is the very essence of what makes sport interesting. Brick by brick, the foundations of Irish dressage are being laid and the tide of green is rising.
Irish riders have made history in recent years - qualifying a team for the Olympics for the first time, winning world para dressage medals, breaking records and an increasing haul of international results. That's not to say it's been smooth sailing. There are challenges with being an island nation, and the decision not to send a team to Tokyo was a milestone low in recent years. But the sport is moving on and the future is bright.
” WE have more strength in depth in our senior elite squad now than we have ever before,” says Dressage Ireland chairman Marguerite Kavanagh.
“By nature we are humble people and don't always promote ourselves enough. However as more and more combinations are placed at international events, this inevitably brings more confidence not only to riders, but also in Irish dressage internationally as a whole.”
Ireland has 15 senior combinations competing internationally and several more “on the cusp”. With six fully qualified for the 2023 Europeans, and two others partly, they are in a
