23 February 2023 - Flipbook - Page 63
HORSEWEEK
FARMWEEK
MAY 07 2020
63
Irish Show Jumping legend
Col Billy Ringrose dies aged 89
O
MAY 3, 1961: Queen Elizabeth II presents the Romulus and
Remus trophy to Captain Billy Ringrose on winning the Grand
Prix at the Piazza di Siena, Rome with ‘Loch an Easpaig’.
Ringrose also came second on his back-up horse, ‘Cloyne’.
(FW19-501NN)
PICTURE: from ‘Billy Ringrose – A memoir of my Father’
published 2017
NE of Ireland’s most
successful
Show
Jumping riders of
the 1950s and 60s,
and Chef d’Equipe
of the famous Aga Khan team
the year they completed
three victories in-a-row in
1979, Col Billy Ringrose has
died in Dublin at the age of
89.
Within the space of one
month in 1961, Army rider
Captain Billy Ringrose won
the Grand Prix in Nice,
presented by Princess Grace,
and then the Grand Prix in
Rome, presented by Queen
Elizabeth II, who was at the
time on a State visit to Italy.
In
his
riding
career,
Ringrose won six individual
international Show Jumping
Grand Prix and seven Nations
Cup team events –- including
being part of the rst mixed
Army-civilian Irish team to
win the Aga Khan Cup in 1963,
along with Diana Conolly-
Carew, Seamus Hayes and
Tommy Wade.
Later, Ringrose became
Commanding Ofcer of the
Army
Equitation
School
at the McKee Barracks in
Dublin and Chef d’Equipe
of the Irish team. Following
victory for the Irish team of
Paul Darragh, James Kernan,
Eddie Macken and Captain
Con Power in 1977 when
managed by Sean Daly, Billy
Ringrose took over as Chef
d’Equipe in 1978 and helped
complete
their
famous
three-in-a-row of Aga Khan
victories in 1979.
Along with winning the
Aga Khan trophy as a rider
and as Chef d’Equipe of
the Irish team, Ringrose
later presented the trophy
to the winning Irish team
Chef d’Equipe in his role as
President of the RDS.
He is also the only rider
to have won the Grand Prix
event at all four shows on the
American tour; Washington
DC, Harrisburg Pennsylvania,
Madison Square Garden in
New York and the Toronto
Winter Fair.
Horse Sport Ireland CEO
Ronan Murphy commented:
“On behalf of everyone at
Horse Sport Ireland, I want
to pass on our deepest
condolences to the family and
friends of Col Billy Ringrose,
who was one of the greats of
Irish Show Jumping.
“His career as a rider and
later as Chef d’Equipe was
outstanding and he gained
the respect of everyone he
met, not just for his sporting
excellence but as a true
gentleman.”
In 2017, Ringrose’s son
Fergal published a 280-page
memoir of his father’s life
and equestrian career, ‘Billy
Ringrose – A memoir of my
Father’ including nearly 80
images taking the reader
back in time to his days as
a rider on the international
circuit.
Ringrose’s Dublin Nations
Cup successes came on the
very same RDS turf that
his grand nephew Garry
Ringrose has now become
a major star with Leinster
Rugby.
The book is self-published
by the author and is available
online at www.billyringrose.
ie.
Over the course of over
a year, Fergal Ringrose
sat down with his parents
and recorded a series of
conversations about his
father’s career. He also
spoke to other equestrians
– Ned Campion, Dermot
Forde,
Sneezy
Foster,
John
Ledingham,
Brian
MacSweeney
and
Des
Ringrose – to help complete
the story of one of the greats
of Irish show jumping: his
father, Colonel Billy Ringrose.
May he rest in peace.
Tips on lunging your horse from AIRC A new era for
Compiled by Tony Ennis, AIRC Chairman
L
UNGING can form a valuable
part of the horse’s regular work
routine, no matter what age the
horse is or what discipline you focus
on. In any case, lunge work should
help to improve the horses way of
going while being ridden.
The Association of Irish Riding
Clubs (AIRC) has set out an outline,
which you may use to lunge your
horse. Lunging your horse is a safe
way to exercise and train your horse
during this challenging time.
Lesson Outcomes:
1) The reasons why you lunge a
horse.
2) Safety checks to follow.
3) Technique on how to lunge.
When lunging your horse, please
ensure to use a safe area with
good footing i.e. lunge pen, barn
indoor arena or outdoor arena with
temporary surround made with cones
and plastic breakable tape.
EQUIPMENT
The handler must wear gloves and
suitable footwear, while a helmet and
body protector is recommended.
The following can be used on your
horse:
- Bridle, cavesson or headcollar
- Lunge line
- Boots
- Breast girths
- Roller or saddle
- Side reins or other training aid
- Lunge whip.
The reasons for lunging your horse
include:
1) Training and breaking a young
horse.
2) It helps teach the horse to go
forward.
3) It helps teach the horse to be
straighter.
4) You can observe how the horse
is going and see muscle development.
5) You can work the horse if it can’t
be ridden.
6) You can get more horses
exercised if time is limited (No Short
Cuts).
7) You can teach the horse new
exercises from the ground.
8) To calm a fresh or excited horse
before riding.
Before you begin to lunge your
horse let them become familiar with
their surroundings and give them a
moment to settle and relax.
Follow these steps when lunging
your horse:
1) Start by checking the equipment
and the girth. Develop a rapport with
your horse and gain its trust by body
language. It must never be afraid.
2) Walk the horse around and stop.
The horse learns to stop when you
stop and walk on when you walk on.
Next, when you turn, the horse will
turn with you all without pulling.
3) Return to centre where everything
happens (for safety). Check the girth
and send the horse out on the left rein
at walk, moving the while after the
horse, low to the ground in circular
motion in rhythm with horse.
4) A high whip to ask for a transition
to trot and canter.
5) A whip pointed at the ground kept
quiet to ask the horse for downward
transitions.
- It is important that we do the same
thing, with no variation, in order for
the horse to learn.
- Use voice commands at the start,
then ‘Wooooooooo’ soft voice for
downward transitions and ‘Himp’
short sharp for upward transitions.
- Halt horse on circle and pick him
up and walk half or more of the circle
before returning to the centre.
- Change and repeat on the right rein
walking on the righthand side of the
horse.
6) Take care when attaching side
reins, never too tight, and shortening
as required, so as to work the horse
from behind over its back into the
contact.
7) Warm-up without side reins unless your horse is excited and
exuberant, in which case put them
on (only if the horse is accustomed to
them). It may help with control.
8) Cool down. Take off the side reins
and allow the horse to stretch, relax
and walk-in hand for a period before
nishing. You can also do this if the
horse gets tense during a session.
You must remember that lunging is
hard on the horse’s joints and should
not be carried out for long periods.
Remember
lunging
can
be
dangerous if carried out without due
care and attention.
SAFETY FIRST: Lunging your horse is a safe way to exercise and train your
horse during this challenging time. (FW19-502NN)
British Equestrian
THE
British
Equestrian
Federation (BEF) is excited to
announce that it will now be
known as British Equestrian,
as part of a rebranding project.
Many mainstream sports have
taken the move to drop words,
such as Association, Federation
and Union, from their public face
for a more modern approach
- British Gymnastics, British
Triathlon and UK Athletics to
name a few.
The
move
brings
the
federation’s three separate
brands of British Equestrian
Federation, which handles
policy
and
governance;
Equestrian
Team
GBR,
which
covers
the
World
Class Programme and senior
championship teams; and Hoof,
which encourages participation
in equestrian sport, uniting
under a single banner. The
organisation will be referred
to as British Equestrian when
used in writing and speech and
the letters BEF will be retained
for acronym use.
With the new name comes a
new logo, which puts a more
modern spin on the existing
BEF logo with the addition of a
contemporary, stylised horse’s
head, while retaining the
traditional red and blue of the
Union ag to represent Great
Britain.
“We are just one of many
sports to undergo such a
rebrand in recent years,” said
British Equestrian’s Interim
Chief Executive, Iain Graham.
“The feeling is that this change
will give our federation a
fresh feel, while marking us
out as the home for anybody
who’s interested in equestrian
sport – regardless of ability,
background or discipline. This
new identity will help to create
a unied and easily identiable
face to both the equestrian and
non-equestrian public.”
The federation also launched
its new website las week, which
can be found at the new address
of britishequestrian.org.uk. The
fresh, new design brings the
previous three sites covering
the federation, Equestrian Team
GBR and Hoof all into one, easy
to navigate portal for a onestop shop for all equestrians –
participants, fans, ofcials and
coaches – as well those visiting
for the rst time to learn more
about the equestrian world.
British Equestrian is the
national governing body for
equestrian sports in the UK.
The umbrella organisation
represents the interests of over
three million riders, vaulters,
carriage drivers, workers and
coaches via 18 independent
member bodies (14 members
and four associates).
It was established in 1972 and is
the largest representative body
within the equestrian industry,
including the Olympic sports
of dressage, eventing and show
jumping, the Paralympic sport
of para equestrian dressage and
the recognised International
Equestrian
Federation
disciplines of carriage driving,
endurance, reining and vaulting
plus horse ball, showing and
mounted games.
Member
bodies
cover
participants of all ages and
abilities – from gold medallists
to grass roots, while equestrian
sport embraces all genders,
men and women compete as
equals.
British Equestrian work hard
to remove any barriers to
participation, champion equine
welfare and industry standards
through a number of initiatives
with its partners and member
bodies.