Cashel rider represents Ireland in the Aga Khan Trophy in Dublin

It was a proud day for local rider Tom Wachman last Friday when he put in a performance beyond his years as part of Ireland’s bid to lift the Aga Khan Trophy in Dublin.

The 20-year-old from Gooldscross, Cashel, and Tabasco De Toxandria Z recorded a superb double-clear round on a sunny afternoon in front of a huge crowd at the RDS.

In the end, Ireland finished third and it was the Netherlands who triumphed in the Nations Cup Of Ireland at the Dublin Horse Show.

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They were in fact the only team to finish on a zero score after a superb display by their quartet of Frank Schuttert, Kevin Jochem, William Greve and Harrie Smolders.

Harrie Smolders in particular was pivotal in the win, delivering the all-important clear that helped the Dutch take home their first Aga Khan trophy in 15 years.

Wachman has every reason to be delighted with his individual performance however. He and 23-year-old Seamus Hughes Kennedy on ESI Rocky produced a double-clear which delighted the home crowd to no end.

Cian O'Connor had four faults in the first round on Bently De Sury before jumping clear second time out.

Denis Lynch and Vistogrant had four faults in each round, with Ireland finishing on a final score of four faults.

Germany finished as runners-up on the same four-fault score as Ireland, but in a faster time.

The defending champions, the USA, shared the lead at the halfway stage but let that slip to finish fourth overall, one place behind Ireland.

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Great Britain in fifth, Canada in sixth, Mexico in seventh and Switzerland in eighth place rounded out the rest of the nations.

Ireland chef d'equipe Michael Blake told RTÉ Sport after the event “the lads were phenomenal. Seamus and Tom having double-clears on their Aga Khan debut shows just how good they are”.

“We were up against very strong teams out there. You look at the strength of the Germans, who we were level with on four faults, and it was an extremely good American team who finished behind us; that makes the result that bit better, even though we’re disappointed not to win.

“You would have to be pleased, we’re creating depth that a lot of other nations don’t have, and eventually depth is going to pay off,” he concluded.

The Dublin Horse Show attracts over 110,000 visitors annually, with a history spanning almost 150 years.

Fans raved about the 2025 edition online, with many saying the standard of this year was “off the scale.”

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