Kildare's Tom Nestor and Alannah Kelly qualify for young rider event squad for European Championships

Horse Sport Ireland has confirmed the GAIN Equine Nutrition Young Rider Eventing Squad for the 2023 European Championships in Montelibretti, Italy, running from September 13 to 17 2023. Kildare's Alannah Kelly and Tom Nestor have qualified for their respective squads, as seen below.

The GAIN Equine Nutrition Young Rider Eventing Squad in alphabetical order is:

Ava Banahan (Co Kildare)– Hanleen Crown Jewels
Chloe Fagan (Co Westmeath) – Comte Ligniere Z
Godfrey Gibbons (Co Galway) – Milchem Free Spirit (ISH)
Alannah Kelly (Co Kildare) – Cooley Bounce (ISH) OR Stroke of Genius (ISH)
Daniel Meagher (Co Tipperary) – A Classic Sportsfield (ISH)
Heather O’Connor (Co Waterford) – HSH Has It All (ISH).

High Performance Young Rider Eventing Team Manager Sue Shortt said: “I am delighted to announce the team for the Young Rider European Championship in Montelibretti. “All six combinations are very experienced and competitive at this level and have consistently finished in the top 10 at senior international 3* competitions in the last 12 months.

“We have team medal winners from the last two Young Rider Europeans and a member of the Junior silver medal winning team from 2022, so I’m confident of a good performance from the squad.

“I would like to thank all our riders, their parents and owners for their commitment to the High Performance program. I would also like to thank our coaches, Heike Holstein and John Ledingham for all their hard work. Many thanks to Aileen Cartwright and all in HSI, and our sponsors GAIN, Dubarry, Bucas, TRM and Berneys.”

Horse Sport Ireland has also confirmed their GAIN Equine Nutrition Junior Eventing Squad for this year's Championships.

The GAIN Equine Nutrition Junior Eventing Squad in alphabetical order is:

Julia Adams (Co Galway) – Milchem Ardeo (ISH)
Aine Connolly (Co Tipperary) – Castlequarter Rambo
Amelia McCarthy (Co Meath) – Finsceal Endeavour (ISH)
Tom Nestor (Co Kildare) – Cooley Diamond Dancer (ISH)
Ted O’Leary (Co Westmeath) – Master Swatch (ISH)
Momo Sheehy (Co Cork) – TMX Herby

High Performance Junior Eventing Team Manager Dag Albert said, “I am pleased to be able to announce the Junior squad to represent Ireland at the European Championships in Montelibretti.

“It was a tough decision with a lot of excellent combinations to choose from. We have a strong squad, some of whom were part of last year’s pony and junior championships which will help strengthen the team with their experience, and we also have some new exciting combinations making their Championship debut.

“I'd like to thank all the parents and support teams and also Horse Sport Ireland, Sport Ireland, Eventing Ireland and all the sponsors.”