They stole the Irish show when the 22-year-old from Galway and his diminutive chestnut mare galloped onto the podium at the Longines FEI Eventing European Championships last weekend where the Irish team finished sixth…..Photogallery by Kim C Lundin
A member of the team that claimed silver and an Olympic qualifying spot at last year’s FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon, USA, Cathal Daniels shared the podium with German Eventing legends Michael Jung (37) and Ingrid Klimke (51) who took silver and gold.
Moving up from 13th to sixth after a spectacular cross-country run on Saturday with the fearless little 12-year-old mare, Rioghan Rua, Daniels stayed clear in the final showjumping phase to become Ireland’s first individual European medallist since Lucy Thompson took gold in 1995. The pair completed on their excellent Dressage mark of 29.0.
Sarah Ennis and Horseware Woodcourt Garrison completed in 26th place on a mark of 42.8 and Sam Watson and Tullabeg Flamenco finished in 36th place on a score of 53.2.
Team chances were hampered when Sam Watson collected 23.6 cross-country time penalties on Saturday and then Ciaran Glynn had to withdraw his mare, November Night, on Sunday morning.
Daniels said, “I’ve gone through Juniors, Young Riders and now seniors with this mare. Unfortunately, the team didn’t get as strong a result as they wanted, but I was glad I was able to get a medal and keep spirits high and build again for next year on the road to Tokyo.”
Results here