Irish Show Jumping and Dressage teams named for 2021 FEI European Championships

Horse Sport Ireland are pleased to announce the Irish Show Jumping team for the 2021 Longines FEI Jumping European Championships, which will be held at Riesenbeck in Germany from September 1st to 5th and also the Irish Dressage team for the FEI Dressage European Championships which take place at Hagen in Germany from September 7th to 12th.

Irish Show Jumping team manager Michael Blake has named his Show Jumping team as follows:

Derry’s Daniel Coyle with Legacy – owned by Ariel Grange & Daniel Coyle
Galway’s Michael Duffy with Zilton SL Z – owned by HMF Equestrian & Katherine Duffy
Louth’s Mark McAuley with Jasco VD Bisschop – owned by Scea La Tuiliere & Mark McAuley
Clare’s Eoin McMahon with Chacon 2 – owned by Madeleine Winter-Schulze

Reserve combination – Bertram Allen with Harley VD Bisschop

Speaking ahead of the Championships, Michael Blake said:

“We are really looking forward to competing at these Championships. We have some exciting new combinations who have been in impressive form in recent months and this is a great opportunity for them to jump at a European Championships where the competition will be intense and the squad also includes a nice balance of experienced riders.”

Horse Sport Ireland are also pleased to name a team for the Longines FEI Dressage European Championships which take place in Hagen (GER). It was hoped to send a full team of four to the Championships however due to the unavailability of some combinations, a team of three athletes and horses will compete for Ireland at the Championships.

The Irish team for the 2021 FEI European Dressage Championships is:

Alex Baker with Dutchman – owned by Daniel Champion & Alex, Carol and Tim Baker
Carolyn Mellor and Gouverneur M – owned by Carolyn Mellor
Anna Merveldt and Esporim – owned by Mario Greco, Eleonore Higgins, Michael Higgins & Giovanna Mazza

Horse Sport Ireland Dressage High Performance Director Johann Hinnemann said:

“I am very happy to send a team of three athletes to the European Dressage Championships in Hagen next month. This will be a great experience and learning curve for Carolyn Mellor and Alex Baker, which will stand to them in the future and combined with Anna Merveldt’s experience, I hope that we can achieve a good result for Ireland. We will also have a training camp in Germany the week before and I am looking forward to working with all athletes.”

The Irish Show Jumping team is sponsored by Devenish & The Underwriting Exchange
Equiline – Official athlete clothing supplier of Horse Sport Ireland