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Looking back at 2021 – with Cormac Kenny: “The one thing that really stands out for me in 2021, is our team at Ben Maher Stables”

Sunday, 26 December 2021
Interview

Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson/WoSJ
Cormac Kenny and Explosion W. Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson for World of Showjumping.

 

Text © World of Showjumping

 


 

As the year comes towards its end, World of Showjumping asked Ben Maher’s show groom Cormac Kenny to share his highlights from 2021.

“The one thing that really stands out for me in 2021, is our team at Ben Maher Stables. Leading up to the Olympics, it was like a well-oiled machine. I think one of the things that was special to me this year, is how in the lead-up up to the Games, I felt we were at our strongest ever as a team,” Cormac tells. “There were many goals that needed to be achieved and I believe they were all accomplished. Then going to Tokyo, it was something unbelievable to be a part of and witness. I think everyone in our team should be so proud of all their efforts that they’ve put in. My main focus was obviously Explosion, but watching everyone coming together and making Ben’s life, my life and Explosion’s life better so that we could do our job, was incredible. I kind of watched it from the outside while also being in the middle of it.”

 

I think one of the things that was special to me this year, is how in the lead-up up to the Games, I felt we were at our strongest ever as a team

 

“I think there is only one word for it: A whirlwind,” Cormac says about the Tokyo Olympics where Maher and Explosion W won the individual gold medal. “You got in there, you waited – and then it all happened pretty quick, and thankfully for us, everything went right.”

“Leading up to the Games, I got into my own world, my own zone, I was focused on my job,” Cormac continues. “I knew what had to be done and kind of switched off from the outside life. Pressure is a privilege and it is something you have to deal with. Thankfully, for me it was not my first championship and I dealt with it better than at the Europeans where I was very stressed. I have learned to treat championships as just another show, and deal with everything in the way it should be dealt with.”

 

I think everyone in our team should be so proud of all their efforts that they’ve put in

 

To end the year, Team Maher won the Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final in Geneva in December. “The Top 10 Final was literally the icing on the cake,” Cormac says. “It was something we have never won before. We have tried four times and for it to happen now was amazing. The class itself was an amazing class, so for him to win it in the way he did was pretty incredible.”

“New year, new goals,” Cormac says about the year ahead. “The goals remain the same, maybe just with a different title; there is another championship to go to in 2022. We just want to keep the horses healthy and happy. As long as they are healthy and happy, the results should show.”

 

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