SHOW jumping champion, Jessica Kurten today (Wednesday) scooped The Irish Times/Irish Sports Council ‘Sportswoman of the Month Award’ for February for her triumph at the Swedish World Cup Qualifier in Gothenburg in February. The strong performance from Kurten’s horse, Castle Forbes Libertina, who only returned to action after a seven-month injury lay-off, lifted Kurten to third in the World Cup rankings and guaranteed her place in the World Cup final in Geneva next month.
It is Kurten’s seventh time to win the ‘Sportswoman of the Month’ award since the awards began in 2004, and she is the only sportswoman who has won a monthly award in every year since the awards began, an indication of her consistency at the very highest level of her sport. Jessica will now battle it out with other monthly winners at the end of 2010 to be named the Sportswoman of the Year.
In January of this year the 40 year old, from Cullybackey, Co. Antrim, won the Leipzig leg of the World Cup qualifying series for the third consecutive year, triumphing in a 16-way jump-off with Castle Forbes Libertina. Kurten took the victory, along with the €37,000 prize money, and was reported to have “nearly brought the roof down at the Scandinavium arena with a rip-roaring ride from Libertina that secured their second victory of the 2009/2010 Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping season” in Gothenburg. Ireland impressively finished with two riders placing in the top three at the event as Banbridge’s Dermott Lennon finished third, after Germany's Marco Kutscher beat his time.
With Libertina back in action, Kurten is now climbing the world rankings with the March list placing her at 15, making her the second-highest ranked female rider in the world. The next step for Kurten and horse Libertina is the World Cup Final in Geneva which are due to start mid April.
Speaking of the news that she has been named Sportswoman of the Month, Kurten, said: It’s a great honour to receive this award for the seventh time. I would like to share this award with my champion showhorse Libertina, and her owner Lady Georgina Forbes. The next target for me is the World Cup Finals in Geneva next month, where I hope to bring home some silverware.”
Jessica will join Aoife Hoey and Claire Bergin, Ireland’s ladies’ bobsleigh team, in the running for the title of ‘Sportswoman of the Year’ 2010. The 2009 Sportswoman of the Year winner was Olive Loughnane for her silver-medal winning performance at the IAAF World Athletics Championships which took place in Berlin in August 2009.
Established in 2004, the aim of the Sports Woman of the Year awards is to recognise the abilities and achievements of women in Irish sports. The awards run over a twelve month period, with the judges selecting a winner each month for her ability to excel at sport. From the twelve monthly winners, the overall Sportswoman of the Year is selected and announced. The winner is decided by a judging panel, which is represented by individuals from The Irish Times, RTÉ, and the Evening Herald.
Further details on the Sportswoman of the Year Awards can be found HERE .