Statement from Horse Sport Ireland Regarding Senior High Performance Jumping Director

Rodrigo Pessoa, Team Ireland’s Senior High Performance Jumping Director, has formally declared his intention to seek selection to ride for Brazil in next year’s Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Commenting on this today, Joe Reynolds, Chairman of Horse Sport Ireland said,

“Representing your country at the Olympics is one of the highest honours in sport and we wish Rodrigo the very best on this journey.  From an Irish perspective, his decision to seek a position on the Brazilian team, which will compete against Team Ireland in Tokyo, makes it impossible for him to continue as Senior High Performance Jumping Director at Team Ireland. Everyone at HSI wishes him all the best on a personal level as he seeks to represent his country again next year.”

Chairman of HSI’s Senior High Performance Jumping Committee, Gerry Mullins said,

“Rodrigo expertly guided Team Ireland to secure qualification for the Tokyo Olympic Games following the win at the Nations Cup Final in Barcelona on 6th October 2019. He has played an historic part in the management of the team, was an integral part in the success of the team, and has been a valued and respected colleague during his term. We are all incredibly grateful to him for that.”

Ronan Murphy, Chief Executive of Horse Sport Ireland said,

“Rodrigo has been an integral part of the successful securing of Team Ireland’s place at Tokyo.  We are genuinely disappointed that he won’t be able to continue as our High Performance Director for what we hope will be a very successful performance by Team Ireland at the Summer Olympics. However, we totally understand the draw of representing his country and participating as a Brazilian athlete in Tokyo.   As a six time Olympian, Rodrigo has an undeniable record to offer his home nation.  Opportunities like that don’t come up very often and we wish him very well.”

Rodrigo’s Consultancy Agreement expires at the end of this month. HSI will shortly commence a process to appoint a Senior High-Performance Jumping Director for the Irish Jumping Programme and squad, a role which see Team Ireland through the Tokyo Games.

Rodrigo Pessoa said, “I have enjoyed my tenure as Ireland team manager for the three years and I am proud to have helped them to attain Olympic qualification and will always be available as a support to the team in the future. I would like to thank the entire High Performance Committee and all the team at Horse Sport Ireland. Last but not least I have to thank all the riders and owners for
their participation.”