, image=DF Equitation School.png , image_size=150px , caption= , dates= 1926–present , country= Ireland , allegiance= , branch=

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, type= Equestrianism , role= , size= , command_structure= Badge of the Irish Defence Forces

Defence Forces The phrase Defence Force(s) (or Defense Force(s) in US English - see spelling differences) is in the title of the armed forces of certain countries and territories. Defence forces * Ambazonia Defence Forces *Artsakh Defence Army * Australian Defen ...

, current_commander= , garrison=

McKee Barracks McKee Barracks () is a military installation situated on Blackhorse Avenue near Phoenix Park in Cabra, Dublin, Ireland. History Known first as Grangegorman Barracks, taking its name from the historical civil parish in which it was situated, this ...

, Dublin , ceremonial_chief= , colonel_of_the_regiment= , nickname= , patron= , motto=''Promoting Ireland and the Irish horse''. , colors= , identification_symbol= , identification_symbol_label=Abbreviation , march= , mascot= , battles= , anniversaries= , decorations= , commander1 = Lieutenant colonel Tom Freyne , commander1_label = Officer Commanding , website= The Equitation School ( ga, An Scoil Eachaíochta) is a centre of excellence of the

dedicated to competing at the highest level of international equestrian competition. It is based at

in the

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tre ...

in Dublin.

Brief history

The Army Equitation School was founded in 1926 by Judge William E. Wylie, a prominent member of the Royal Dublin Society, Quartermaster general Colonel Michael Hogan and President of the Executive Council (modern-day ''

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...

'') William T. Cosgrave. Russian riding instructor Colonel Paul Rodzianko, appointed Chief Instructor of the Equitation School (1928 to 1931) by the

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

, was instrumental in the early competitive successes of the Equitation School. Between 1931 and 1939 the Equitation School went on to win 20 Nations Cups in the cities of Lucerne, Dublin,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Toronto, New York City,

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

, Amsterdam, London, and Aachen.

Overview

Army riders have 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 vari ...

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. Fro ...

and

European Show Jumping Championships The FEI European Show Jumping Championships is the European Championship for the equestrian discipline of show jumping. First held in 1957 in Rotterdam, and on an annual basis, it is held every two years, on the years between Olympic Games and W ...

in the disciplines of show jumping and three-day

eventing Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This ...

. The Equitation School has helped the Irish team to numerous victories in the

Aga Khan Trophy The Aga Khan Trophy is the prize presented for Ireland's showjumping Nations Cup competition, held annually at the Dublin Horse Show. The first trophy was donated in 1926 by Aga Khan III, who was a frequent visitor to the show. Initially, a count ...

at the

RDS Arena RDS Arena is a multi-purpose sports stadium, owned by the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) and located in the Dublin suburb of Ballsbridge, Ireland. The arena was developed to host equestrian events, primarily the annual Dublin Horse Show, which was ...

. All Army riders are of officer rank and compete only on Irish-bred sport horses. The Equitation School, through its involvement with the

Racing Academy and Centre of Education The Racing Academy and Centre of Education (RACE) is a jockey training school at the Irish National StudJohnny Murtagh Johnny Murtagh (born 14 May 1970) is an Irish flat racing trainer and former jockey from Bohermeen, near Navan, Kells, County Meath. As a jockey he won many of the major flat races in Europe, including all the Irish Classi ...

Kieren Fallon Kieren Francis Fallon (born 22 February 1965 in Crusheen, County Clare, Ireland) is a retired Irish professional flat racing jockey and was British Champion Jockey six times. Career Stable jockey to Henry Cecil I ...

, Jimmy Quinn and Conor O’Dwyer. The school also has significant influence on national and supranational equestrian bodies. Both serving and retired Army Equitation School officers sit on committees and boards of Horse Sport Ireland (HSI),

International Federation for Equestrian Sports The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (, FEI) is the international governing body of equestrian sports. The FEI headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland. An FEI code of conduct protects the welfare of the horses from physical abu ...

(FEI),

Equestrian Federation of Ireland Horse Sport Ireland is the National Governing Body for all equestrian sport in Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is a 32-county body, and is therefore responsible for the administration of international competitions throughout the whole island. It ...

(EFI), Show Jumping Association of Ireland, Eventing Ireland and the RDS Equestrian Committee. The Equitation School has contributed to the development of training and coaching in the Irish and international sport horse industry, with a number of programmes created by the school being adopted by national and international bodies as the standard. The Equitation School took in over €73,000 in prize money at national and international events in 2012. The budget to run the school for 2012 amounted to €2.26 million. 50% of prize money is shared with the school's riders. 100% of the costs of the school is paid by the Irish taxpayer. The Irish horse sport industry is worth an estimated €800 million to the Irish economy.

Current riding officers

References

External links

The Equitation School

Equitation School brochure (2016)
{{Coord, 53.356933, N, 6.301552, W, display=title Dublin Horse Show Irish Army Military units and formations of the Irish Army Military units and formations established in 1926 1926 establishments in Ireland

Brief history

Overview

Current riding officers

See also

References

External links