Eddie Macken (born 20 October 1949 in
Granard
Granard () is a town in the north of County Longford, Ireland, and has a traceable history going back to AD 236. It is situated just south of the boundary between the watersheds of the Shannon and the Erne, at the point where the N55 nationa ...
,
Longford
Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...
, Ireland)
[Eddie Macken]
''Sports Reference LLC'', retrieved 25 January 2010. is an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
equestrian
The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse".
Horseback riding (or Riding in British English)
Examples of this are:
* Equestrian sports
*Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...
show jumper
Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ...
, who was a member of the Irish team - along with
Paul Darragh
Paul Darragh (28 April 1953 – 3 January 2005) was an Irish equestrian who competed in the sport of show jumping. He was on the winning team in the Aga Khan three years in a row from 1977 to 1979 with the mare Heather Honey. He was also on th ...
, Capt. Con Power, and James Kernan – that won the
Aga Khan Cup three years in a row (1977 to 79). Other notable career highlights include a record four consecutive
Hickstead Derby
The British Jumping Derby meeting – known for sponsorship reasons as the Al Shira'aa Hickstead Derby Meeting – is an annual showjumping event held since 1961 at the Hickstead in June every year. It is considered one of the premier events in th ...
wins (1976 to 79), two individual silver medals at the
Show Jumping World Championships
The World Show Jumping Championships, or the show jumping competition at the FEI World Equestrian Games, was started in 1953, with individual competition. In 1978 Team competitions began, and men and women began competing against one another. From ...
, 1974 with Pele and 1978 on
Boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...
, and an individual silver medal at the 1977
European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
with Pele. Macken has many major
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
victories worldwide. Many of Macken's achievements were gained in partnership with his
Irish bred gelding
A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...
, Boomerang. From Macken's first rides with Boomerang as a four-year-old in 1970, the pair blazed a trail of wins that lasted a decade.
[Equestrian: Show Time]
(26 July 2008), ''Independent.ie'', retrieved 25 January 2010.
Olympic involvement
Macken represented Ireland at the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
in 1992
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
(on Welfrenkone finishing 75th individually – team 14th) and in 1996
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
(on Schalkaar finishing 37th individually – team 8th),
[ and as team trainer in 2004 (]Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
).
Controversy swirled around the Irish team during the 2004 Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
. Originally selected as team trainer, Macken was sacked in June 2004 after a power struggle with Chef d'Équipe Tommy Wade, an event that came to be known as the "Macken Sackin' Affair". A group of senior Irish riders complained, and in July Macken was reinstated as team trainer and Wade was removed as Team Manager. Top team rider Cian O'Connor
Cian O'Connor (born 12 November 1979) is an Irish equestrian who competes in show jumping. He has competed at three Olympic Games, four World Championships and six European Championships, and has attained 133 senior caps for his country. He won ...
chose to stay out of the controversy and continue to support Wade, which raised the ire of some fellow riders. All seemed well as O'Connor went on to win the individual gold medal, and the team overall finished 7th. However the gold medal was later stripped when O'Connor's horse - Waterford Crystal
Waterford Crystal is a manufacturer of lead glass or "crystal", especially in cut glass, named after the city of Waterford, Ireland. In January 2009, the main Waterford Crystal manufacturing base on the edge of Waterford was closed due to the i ...
- tested positive for a banned substance.
Later career
After moving to Canada in the early 2000s (decade), Macken became based at New Kells Farm in Langley Langley may refer to:
People
* Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name
* Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer
* Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...
, British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
and participated on the North American show jumping circuit. In 2008, Eddie Macken was asked by the Irish showjumping team manager and Chef d'Équipe Robert Splaine to jump at the Failte Ireland Dublin Horse Show 2008 as part of the Aga Khan Nations Cup team. It was Macken's first time on an Irish equestrian team in more than a decade.[ The Irish team finished 2nd behind Great Britain, but later lost this placing after Macken was charged with a technical violation regarding doping tests by the FEI.
In 2010, 61-year-old Macken rode the Argentinian Warmblood Macuco to win one of the opening classes during the CSI "North American" competition at ]Spruce Meadows
Spruce Meadows is a multi-purpose sports facility near Calgary, Alberta built by the Southern family which opened in 1975.
The facility contains an equestrian show jumping complex that comprises . The current president and CEO of Spruce Me ...
.
Film
A documentary on Macken and Boomerang's partnership, Eddie Macken and Boomerang
Eddie or Eddy may refer to:
Science and technology
* Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle
*Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...
was produced and broadcast by BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Northern Ireland in 1982.