Kilkenny horses and riders help Ireland to gold medal success at Youth Show Jumping European Championships

1.

An incredible weekend for Ireland at the FEI European Youth Show Jumping Championships in Gorla Minore, Italy, saw Kilkenny horses and riders play a leading role, with Ireland making history by winning two team golds, an individual gold and an individual silver medal. Leading the way was Seamus Hughes-Kennedy from Danesfort who was a key part of the five-member Irish U21 team that won the European team gold medal last Friday. It was a real Kilkenny success story as the horse that Seamus was riding, the 8-year-old gelding ESI Rocky (ISH), was bred at Ennisnag Stud in Stoneyford, which is managed by brothers Andrew and Niall Hughes.  It was a dominant performance from the Irish U21 team, managed by James Kernan who represented Ireland at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Ireland came into the final round in a strong position, holding almost two fences in hand on their nearest rivals. Three perfect clear rounds in the final decider saw Ireland take the gold medal in style, to finish on a final score of just 2.5 penalties – well clear of Belgium who took silver on 15.09 penalties while Great Britain took bronze on 18.41. The winning Irish team also included Tyrone’s Niamh McEvoy, Tipperary’s Max Wachman, Clare’s Rhys Williams, and Mayo’s Ciaran Nallon. In a remarkable performance, Seamus Hughes-Kennedy, a son of Clare Hughes and Melvyn Kennedy, went on to claim the individual gold medal with ESI Rocky(ISH) 48 hours later to be crowned double European Champions and confirm their position as the top Young Rider (U21) Show Jumping combination across Europe. Speaking after collecting his second European gold medal, Seamus Hughes Kennedy (21) said:"I'd like to thank everyone that has helped us, it has been a long road. A special thanks to Ennisnag Stud run by our uncles just down the road. They bred the horse [ESI Rocky] and we bought him then as a young horse and have had him for the last six years - so it 's been good to have something to show for it. A double gold medal sounds good so I can't

2.

An incredible weekend for Ireland at the FEI European Youth Show Jumping Championships in Gorla Minore, Italy, saw Kilkenny horses and riders play a leading role, with Ireland making history by winning two team golds, an individual gold and an individual silver medal. Leading the way was Seamus Hughes-Kennedy from Danesfort who was a key part of the five-member Irish U21 team that won the European team gold medal last Friday. It was a real Kilkenny success story as the horse that Seamus was riding, the 8-year-old gelding ESI Rocky (ISH), was bred at Ennisnag Stud in Stoneyford, which is managed by brothers Andrew and Niall Hughes.  It was a dominant performance from the Irish U21 team, managed by James Kernan who represented Ireland at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Ireland came into the final round in a strong position, holding almost two fences in hand on their nearest rivals. Three perfect clear rounds in the final decider saw Ireland take the gold medal in style, to finish on a final score of just 2.5 penalties – well clear of Belgium who took silver on 15.09 penalties while Great Britain took bronze on 18.41. The winning Irish team also included Tyrone’s Niamh McEvoy, Tipperary’s Max Wachman, Clare’s Rhys Williams, and Mayo’s Ciaran Nallon. In a remarkable performance, Seamus Hughes-Kennedy, a son of Clare Hughes and Melvyn Kennedy, went on to claim the individual gold medal with ESI Rocky(ISH) 48 hours later to be crowned double European Champions and confirm their position as the top Young Rider (U21) Show Jumping combination across Europe. Speaking after collecting his second European gold medal, Seamus Hughes Kennedy (21) said:"I'd like to thank everyone that has helped us, it has been a long road. A special thanks to Ennisnag Stud run by our uncles just down the road. They bred the horse [ESI Rocky] and we bought him then as a young horse and have had him for the last six years - so it 's been good to have something to show for it. A double gold medal sounds good so I can't

3.

An incredible weekend for Ireland at the FEI European Youth Show Jumping Championships in Gorla Minore, Italy, saw Kilkenny horses and riders play a leading role, with Ireland making history by winning two team golds, an individual gold and an individual silver medal. Leading the way was Seamus Hughes-Kennedy from Danesfort who was a key part of the five-member Irish U21 team that won the European team gold medal last Friday. It was a real Kilkenny success story as the horse that Seamus was riding, the 8-year-old gelding ESI Rocky (ISH), was bred at Ennisnag Stud in Stoneyford, which is managed by brothers Andrew and Niall Hughes.  It was a dominant performance from the Irish U21 team, managed by James Kernan who represented Ireland at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Ireland came into the final round in a strong position, holding almost two fences in hand on their nearest rivals. Three perfect clear rounds in the final decider saw Ireland take the gold medal in style, to finish on a final score of just 2.5 penalties – well clear of Belgium who took silver on 15.09 penalties while Great Britain took bronze on 18.41. The winning Irish team also included Tyrone’s Niamh McEvoy, Tipperary’s Max Wachman, Clare’s Rhys Williams, and Mayo’s Ciaran Nallon. In a remarkable performance, Seamus Hughes-Kennedy, a son of Clare Hughes and Melvyn Kennedy, went on to claim the individual gold medal with ESI Rocky(ISH) 48 hours later to be crowned double European Champions and confirm their position as the top Young Rider (U21) Show Jumping combination across Europe. Speaking after collecting his second European gold medal, Seamus Hughes Kennedy (21) said:"I'd like to thank everyone that has helped us, it has been a long road. A special thanks to Ennisnag Stud run by our uncles just down the road. They bred the horse [ESI Rocky] and we bought him then as a young horse and have had him for the last six years - so it 's been good to have something to show for it. A double gold medal sounds good so I can't

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