Meet the 'ambassadors on horseback' of Ireland's Army Equitation School

Commandant Geoff Curran, originally from Fenor, Co Waterford, exercising Hawthorn Hill at the Army Equitation School. One of Ireland’s great showjumpers, Cmdt Curran has represented Ireland at the Olympics. Picture: Moya Nolan

Cloistered behind high red brick walls in Dublin’s bustling city, an Olympic rider puts a gleaming grey horse through its perfect paces.

Hogwarts-like Victorian towers stretch up into the skyline behind the arena, a magical realm that seems to operate in serene and perfect order, oblivious to the incessant traffic and chaotic city life outside.

One high wall yields with a private entrance into the 1,750 acre Phoenix Park, where Army Equitation School riders from McKee Barracks have unique permission to bring their horses.

Established in 1926, the Army Equitation School will celebrate its centenary next year and is busily planning podcasts and events to mark the milestone.

The bloody and fractious Civil War had ended just three years earlier and the fledgling Irish Free State was grappling to find its feet, its voice, and its identity.

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The Equitation School started when the RDS Dublin Horse Show wanted to hold a Nations Cup competition in 1926 — a class open to military riders only — and could only do so if Ireland could field its own team, Commandant Sharon Crean said.

The newly founded army had no horses, so it bought some it hoped had potential to be winning showjumpers.

They were given heroic Irish names: Finghín, An Craobh Ruadh, Roisín Dubh, and Ferdia.

Only one of the riders had any showjumping experience.

“They came second in that first Nations Cup,” Cmdt Crean said.

Riding officer Lieutenant Raphael Lee and Commandant Sharon Crean at the Army Equitation School based at McKee Barracks in Dublin. Picture: Moya Nolan

Establishing the Equitation school was also to counter what was happening “year on year” at the RDS when European riders — especially the Swiss — would come to the Dublin Horse Show and buy many of Ireland’s best horses and set up breeding programmes with Irish mares.

“The Dublin Horse Show is always, and still is today, a big shop window for selling horses out of the country. 

"But it was being done, I suppose, to the detriment [of Ireland] in what was becoming a very popular sport in the 1920s, as the Swiss would then beat Ireland on horses with Irish blood.”

The school was also “promoting Ireland as a new nation to the rest of the world” Cmdt Crean said. Riders from the equitation school travelled internationally, spending significant time in the US, competing in major destinations such as Madison Square Garden, Washington, and Boston.

People would often see the Irish flag flying for the very first time at these elite venues, Cmdt Crean said.

“Amhrán na bhFiann [the then-new national anthem] was being played in prizegiving ceremonies for the first time because riders and horses from the equitation school were competing there and winning classes and promoting not just the Irish horse but actually the country itself.”

Major political connections, including links with the assassinated Irish-American president John F Kennedy, were made through Irish army riders competing in the US. The school became a useful tool for strengthening the fledgling State’s soft power and deepening burgeoning diplomatic relations.

“A book written about the school called the riders ‘ambassadors on horseback’. There’s a very rich tapestry there of history. You can still draw the threads on it that are relevant today,” Cmdt Crean said.

Commanding Officer Tom Freyne emphasises that few applicants for the Army Equitation School will make the grade. 'It’s a bit like trying to play football for Man United,' he said. Picture: Moya Nolan

McKee was built as a British cavalry barracks in the late 1800s and once was home to some 860 horses at full war strength.

The stables were still intact when the fledgling Irish State took over and so it made a natural home for the equitation school.

The equitation school has hundreds of trophies to prove its century-long successes. One particular trophy, known as the “Hitler Cup”, was won at the Aachen Nations Cup in 1937 when Adolf Hitler ruled the German Third Reich. 

The silver cup is covered with coats of arms representing each Third Reich state, one bearing a large swastika. 

A photo in the school shows a high-ranking Nazi official, initially believed to be genocidal ruler Hitler, whose invasion of Poland sparked the Second World War, presenting the cup to senior Irish army riding officer and Olympian Fred Ahern.

But it is now understood to be Heinrich Himmler, the second most powerful man in Nazi Germany, a politician and military commander who oversaw massacres and organised extermination camps.

Other photos show Queen Elizabeth presenting trophies to winning Irish army riders.

Another photo shows the horses that competed in the 1928 Nations Cup — the first year the Defence Forces won in Dublin horse show. It contrasts sharply with the photo next to it of equitation school horses taken a few months ago. The photos reveal the Irish sport horse’s evolution over that almost 100-year period, becoming both sleeker and more powerful.

Riding officers work with their horses at the Army Equitation School. Picture: Moya Nolan

The Irish sports horse industry now contributes more than €700m to the Irish economy.

And the Equitation School has helped to drive Ireland’s reputation as an internationally recognised producer of some of the world’s finest horses.

Equitation School riders compete only on Irish bred horses.

And these army riders have represented Ireland at Olympic, World, and European Championship level in showjumping and three-day eventing.

Some €500,000 was allocated to the equitation school to buy horses in the recent budget.

In 2024, some €475, 000 of the €500,000 horse purchase budget was spent.

The annual budget to buy elite horses has been reasonably stable in recent years, Cmdt Crean said.

But with top-tier showjumpers costing more than €10m, the school must carefully choose and train young horses to attain this extremely valuable level.

“You’ve got to have a bit of a crystal ball sometimes,” she said.

A horse purchase board assess what horses the school should buy. But they also lease horses to compete. Two horses are currently being leased by the school. The horses can have more value at stud having competed at high levels and it’s a cost-effective way for the Defence Forces to procure more high quality horses.

Private Elena Sheehy from Wexford first entered the Army Equitation School as a transition year student on work experience. After her Leaving Cert, she returned and now cares for some of Ireland’s best showjumpers and travels to elite international competitions with them. Picture: Moya Nolan

Cmdt Crean, appointed second in command of the Army Equitation School in 2016, became the first female officer to hold the appointment. She began riding ponies aged six and excelled.

Joining the army school allows elite riders to train and compete on some of the best horses in Ireland at the top levels, she said.

But becoming a rider at the school is highly competitive, with only two places usually available in recruitment rounds. And some years, no positions are available. Star potential is what the school seeks out — in both riders and horses.

“They have to have the potential to get to the highest level of the sport because that’s what we do, that’s the mission of the school — to compete the Irish horse and promote the Irish horse in competition at the highest level,” Cmdt Crean said.

To be accepted, you must pass all the Defence Forces tests, including psychometric, fitness and competency interview before then also passing a riding test.

Full military training must then be completed “before you even see a horse”, Cmdt Crean said.

“They’re not just here to ride horses, they are ambassadors for the Defence Forces and for their country.

“I personally feel that we need them to have that depth of character that military training gives you. Military discipline, the esprit de corps that you get from, and you only get from, doing the military training.”

Competition is fierce for a place as a riding officer. Lieutenant Raphael Lee, originally from Galway,  says: 'Once you’re in, you’re just very focused on improving your riding, improving the horses.' Picture: Moya Nolan

The Army Equitation School has 39 personnel across all ranks. But they are seven below their target number. They have been actively recruiting. Applications have just closed for the latest intake of cadets. New recruits will join over the coming weeks and four people are already in training.

Most entering to become riding officers will already have international competing experience.

“We’re looking for people with the potential to be top-class international five-star championship riders,” Cmdt Crean said.

Although the school gets many applications, few will make the grade. “It’s a bit like trying to play football for Man United,” said Tom Freyne, commanding officer at the Irish Army Equitation School.

“Only a small percentage will ever get to go in on a Sunday afternoon and jump the Grand Prix in Dublin.”

Cmdt Crean said: “It’s relentless. To get to the highest standard, and maintain it on different horses. It’s very hard work and it’s not for everybody.

“You have to have a really consistent competitive edge. The drive has to be there every day, no matter what how bad your day was yesterday. You need that resilience to recover and to want to go at it again, with the risk of it going badly again.

“Some people will not want that pressure, but still want to be part of the team. And you need both. The team piece is very important.

“The grooms are the key enabler in everything we do. They may not be the name that everybody knows because they’re not the ones actually in the ring but they’re right outside and none of it’s happening without them.”

Commandant Sharon Crean appreciates the 'very rich tapestry' of the Army Equitation School's history, and its role in the 1920s of 'promoting Ireland as a new nation to the rest of the world'. Picture: Moya Nolan

The equitation school currently has about 40 horses with 36 in active duty.

The stables in McKee have an “ice spa”, essentially an ice bath where horses can be brought to drain fluid from their limbs and prevent injury post-exercise.

They also have a water treadmill where they can exercise, putting less pressure on their joints than harder ground.

Older horses that remain relatively sound (uninjured) are kept in the school for younger officers to train on.

“The horse is training the [younger] rider so they are an invaluable and essential part of the system here in the school,” Cmdt Crean said. “Younger riders can make their mistakes on those horses to less detriment than making a mistake on the young horses.”

Second Lieutenant Erin Crawford from Donegal, riding officer at the Army Equitation School at McKee Barracks, Dublin. Picture: Moya Nolan

When the horses can no longer be ridden, they’re retired to a Department of Agriculture farm in Clane, Co Kildare.

Commandant Geoff Curran, who has competed in the Olympics for Ireland, is the school’s chief riding officer.

He was exercising Hawthorn Hill, the elegant and powerful 17-hand grey horse whose exuberant jumping at competitions catapulted him to Youtube fame, with clips of him circulating busily on social media. 

He was reportedly voted horse of the month on Youtube in May after performing in Hamburg, Germany. 

Recent competitions he jumped in include the Grand Prix at Dublin’s RDS and the Hickstead Derby in the UK.

Next stop is jumping on a Nations Cup team in Vejer de la Frontera in southern Spain in October.

“He’s not a horse that you can just get on and go with,” Cmdt Curran said. “The relationship is very important between him and the rider.

“He’s very comfortable with me now, as I am with him. You keep working on the relationship, trying to fine-tune it, but it’s in a good position.”

Cmdt Curran finished his cadetship in 2001 and has been a riding officer — and one of Ireland’s greatest showjumpers — since.

But the school not only caters for the greats, it is also open to younger students for school visits, pony clubs and work experience.

Groom to Cmdt Curran, Private Elena Sheehy, first entered the school as a transition year student on work experience.

Private Elena Sheehy from Wexford, a groom with the Army Equitation School based at McKee Barracks in Dublin. Picture: Moya Nolan

After completing her Leaving Cert she returned and now cares for some of Ireland’s best showjumpers and travels to elite international competitions with them.

“I was always interested in horses and grew up having horses at home,” Private Sheehy said.

She applied to the Defence Forces after completing her Leaving Cert and now cares for six horses at McKee Barracks.

Private Sheehy also drives the large horse trucks to national and international competitions.

She plans to take three horses to Spain in the coming weeks.

Private Elena Sheehy, from Wexford, a groom with the Army Equitation School based at McKee Barracks in Dublin. Picture: Moya Nolan

“It takes nearly three days to get to Spain. You have to stop off to give the horses a rest. We usually stop in England, France, and the border between France and Spain. You pre-book stables there for them to rest.”

On arrival at the showground stables, the horses are settled. Jumping will usually start two days after arrival.

Private Sheehy encouraged anyone with an interest to apply for the Defence Forces Equitation School.

“Go for it. Because, honestly, you won’t get this anywhere else. You’re working with animals that are the top level of show jumping.”

Lieutenant Raphael Lee is one of the school’s newer riding officers. Lt Lee was also preparing for a competition in Spain.

Three riders, 13 horses, and three grooms will likely go from the McKee stables in two trucks, he said. 

He will often ride four horses in multiple jumping classes in competitions. With only six riders currently, competition is fierce for a place as a riding officer.

“Once you’re in, you’re just very focused on improving your riding, improving the horses,” Lt Lee said.

“It keeps you hungry.”