{{MedalTableTop , name=no , sport=

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 in ...

, medals= {{MedalCompetition ,

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 ...

{{Medal, Silver , 1968 Mexico City , Team 3-Day Event {{Medal, Silver , 1972 Munich , Team 3-Day Event {{Medal, Competition ,

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

{{Medal, Gold , 1966 Burghley , Team eventing {{Medal, Bronze , 1970 Punchtown , Team eventing {{Medal, Competition ,

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

{{Medal, Gold , 1967 Winnipeg , Team eventing Kilkenny was a horse that competed in the sport of

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. Thi ...

Competitive career

Kilkenny was named after the area in which he was bred –

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. His breeder was William Dempsey of

Ballyhale Ballyhale () is a village in the south east of Ireland. Located in the south of County Kilkenny, south of the city of Kilkenny and roughly halfway to Waterford city. The sport of hurling is popular in the area, and the local Gaelic Athletic Ass ...

. Kilkenny was first ridden by an Irish rider, Tommy Brennan, with whom he competed at the 1964

Badminton Horse Trials The Badminton Horse Trials is a eventing, five-day event, one of only six annual Concours Complet International, Concours Complet International (CCI) Five Star events as classified by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, Fédér ...

and in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. In 1965, he turned briefly to

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...

, becoming a member of the Irish Show Jumping Team and competing at the Rotterdam CSI, jumping 6'7" in a

puissance Puissance is the high-jump competition in the equestrian sport of show jumping. Description The competition involves a maximum of five rounds - opening round followed by four jump-offs, not against the clock. The first round consists of four t ...

class. He was ridden again in the 1966 Badminton Horse Trials and then at the 1966

Eventing World Championship The World Eventing Championships, or the eventing competition in the ''World Equestrian Games'' (WEG), began in 1966. It includes both a team and individual competition for the best horses and riders in the sport of eventing. The World Championship ...

at Burghley, where he won team gold. Wofford saw the horse running at the World Championships and was impressed by his bravery. His mother purchased Kilkenny that winter, and gave Wofford the ride. Under Wofford, Kilkenny continued to have great success, first winning the 1967

USET The United States Equestrian Team (USET) refers to the American national teams in Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines of horse sport. US Equestrian, the governing body of horse sport in the United States, selects, trains and funds the teams. The O ...

Nationals, before earning the team gold at the Pan-American Games and finishing 4th individually. In 1968, the pair competed at Badminton for a third time, placing 13th. A few months later they finished 8th at the Canadian Championships, before shipping off to the 1968 Olympics. The Olympics was a success, earning a team silver medal for the Americans. However, a broken

caulk Caulk or, less frequently, caulking is a material used to seal joints or seams against leakage in various structures and piping. The oldest form of caulk consisted of fibrous materials driven into the wedge-shaped seams between boards on w ...

in the show jumping resulted in a fall, and disappointedly dropped the pair from second individually down to sixth. The pair continued finishing well, placing 3rd at the 1969 USET Championships, and winning the bronze medal at the 1970 World Championships in Puncheston. In 1971, Kilkenny finished third at the Canadian Championships, and finished his competitive career at the 1972 Olympic Games, with a team silver medal. Following his third Olympics, Kilkenny was retired at Ledyard, and carried Wofford out

fox hunting Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of ho ...

for 6 years.

Accomplishments

* One of only three horses (including The Grasshopper and Paket) to compete in three Olympics * Winner of 2 team gold medals, 2 team silver medals, 1 individual bronze, and a National Championship * Competed in 4 CCI***s and an amazing 9 CCI****s * One of only five

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

horses to have competed in six or more CCIOs (International Team Competitions), in addition to The Grasshopper, The Poacher, Random Light, and Priceless. * At 3 of the CCIO****s, he finished with the fastest cross-country time (including the 1968 Olympics, where he finished an amazing 30 seconds ahead of the second-fastest) * Completed every CCI he every started

References

* ''1964 Dublin Horse Show Catalogue'' – Class 60. confined to horses entered for jumping only. Eventing horses 1957 animal births Horses in the Olympics Horses in the Pan American Games