Horse & Hound – 22 August 2019

22 August 2019Horse& Hound 23

Pictures by Uwe Anspach/dpa, Corbis via Getty Images and Stefano Grasso/LGCT

Eventing’snewBritish

champion Ben Hobday

NEXT

WEEK

‘Tokyois absolutelyinmyhead,’saysDarragh,picturedonfive-starrideImportantDeMuze

‘I don’twantjusttowin.I wanttowin really

wellandbeveryconsistent’

H

ISdecisiontoleavehishomein

Co.Offaly,Ireland—aged 19 —and

takeuptheofferofa trainingbursary

withshowjumpingtrainerMissyClarkin

Americawas“prettyobvious”,hesays.

“Ialwayswantedtorideatthisleveland

I knewthatwasn’tpossibleinIreland,soI had

tofigureouta waytodoit.”

Darragh’sparentsrana businessproducing

andsellingyounghorses,whichmeantthat

therewasalwayssomethingforhimtoride,

andtheyinstilledinhimvaluablelessons

aboutgettingthemostoutofhorses.A 12.2hh

ponycalledMagicShadow(wholaterwenton

tohiscompatriotBertramAllen)gavehima

tasteofwinning—whilespendingtwohours

stuckina draincalledtimeonhisshort-lived

huntingcareer.

“Forsure,I missIreland.Ithasa

great,relaxedculturewithhorses,”says

Darragh,whocountswinningthe 2015

AgaKhanTrophyatDublinHorseShow

asoneofhisgreatestvictories.“However,in

Americathey’resoparticularabouttheway

horsesaretakencareofandI learnthowto

managethemsotheyalwayslookandfeel

great.InIreland,youcouldhavetwogrooms

for 20 horses,whereasinAmericayou’dhave

fivegrooms.”

Aftera steadyclimbuptheranksatMissy

andherhusbandJohnBrennan’sNorth

RunFarm,DarraghsetupOaklandStables,

agedjust25,whichherunswithhisbusiness

partnerHardinTowell.Thereis a yardof 60

horsesintheNetherlandsandwintersare

spentinFlorida,wherehetrainswithhis

childhoodheroEddieMacken.

Thebreadandbutterofthebusinessis

madeupwithtrainingclients—“Ilikehelping

peopleachievetheirgoalsinthesameway

I washelpedtoachievemine”—aswellas

buyingandsellinghigh-performancehorses.

“There’sa vastnumberofsuitablehorses

intheNetherlandsandBelgium,”says

Darragh.“Withinanhourofmystables,

therecouldbe 200 worthtrying,whereasin

Ireland,youcoulddrive for an hour and there

might just be one.”

D

ARRAGHtalksabouta Dutchculture

thatis stricterandmoreintense

thantheonehegrewupwith.

However,askhimwhathisgoalsare—“I

don’twantjusttowin.I wanttowinreallywell

and be very consistent” — and it’s clear this

intensityhasmadeanimpressiononhim.

“There’snotreallyanydowntimeatthe

moment,”headmits.“I’mreallyluckybecause

I havea lotofgoodhorsestorideandsoI’m

tryingtodoasmanyshowsaspossible.”

At the Europeans in Rotterdam this

week,IrelandwillbyvyingforOlympic

qualification,andDarraghhasmeticulously

plannedhisyeararoundit.

“Tokyois absolutelyinmyhead,”hesays.

“ThisyearI madea lotofsacrificeswithBalou

Du Reventon — I didn’t take him to Florida for

example,becauseI wantedhimfreshforthe

Europeans.I madea scheduleinJanuaryof

exactlywhichshowshewasgoingtodo.”

Therearenosuperstitionsorwacky

pre-competitionrituals.

“Ifyouridewellandyouhaveyourhorse

ingoodshape,thenthat’sthemostimportant

thingfora bigshow,”hesays.

Evenbroachingthedisappointmentof

missingoutonlastyear’sWorldEquestrian

Games,whenhisrideunderwenta colic

operation,doesn’trockhim.

“Itwasdisappointing,forsure,”says

Darragh,“butattheendofthedaythesethings

happen.Youjusthavetogetupthenextday

andmoveon.”

Infact,it’shardtoimaginehimeverraising

hisvoice,orevenbreakingtherhythmofhis

Irishlilt,butheinsistshecanget“fairlywound

up,fairlyquickly.It’stheemotionsofthesport

we’rein”.Butforthemostparthetriesto“stay

ascalmaspossible,andthinkaboutthelogical

waytofigureit out”.

OnthedayhewoninChantillylastmonth,

he’dbeenthefirsttogointhejump-off.Itmust

havebeenanagonisingwait,I suggest.

“Whenyou’reinthatsituation,youhope

youdon’tgetbeat,butyouunderstand

completelywhenyoudo,”hesays.

Butsurelyhewasgluedtotheaction?

“Ialwaysthinkit’sbettertodoyourown

thing,trotyourhorse off and just hope the rest

plays out...”H&H

Darragh heads for victory at Chantilly last monthonBalou Du Reventon, his Europeans mount