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“I have always looked up to my parents and both my mum and dad have been of great help, so I hope I have made them proud with some of the recent successes,” Ireland’s 21-year-old Seamus Hughes Kennedy tells World of Showjumping.

Seamus recently made history at the 2023 FEI Jumping European Championships for young riders, juniors and children in Gorla Minore, Italy, when winning the individual gold for young riders; Ireland’s first ever of its kind in that age category. Riding the only 8-year-old ESI Rocky (Stakkato Gold x Londonderry), Seamus also took home the team gold, alongside Niamh McEvoy and Templepatrick Welcome Limmerick (Limmerick x Lux Z), Ciaran Nallon and Fifty Shades Of Grey (Cellestial x Carolus I), Max Wachman and Quintini (Quintender 2 x Cassini II) as well as Rhys Williams aboard Playboy JT Z (Presley Boy x Plot Blue).

“I knew we had a really good team going,” Seamus says about his expectations ahead of the long week in the Italian heat. “Everyone on the team is very professional and they had done super all year. Ger O’Neill gave me huge support. He is a man you want in your corner, having three world championship gold medals himself; he knows what it takes. I knew my horse had all the jump to stay clear if I could just guide him around and make sure he felt confident. Once I give him the right confidence to keep going, he does not like knocking poles down. It was a long week, and it was definitely tough in the hot weather, but it all worked out well anyway.” 

“My horse ESI Rocky is still green – he is only eight – and did his first ranking class four weeks prior in Mullingar,” Seamus tells. “He jumped great there; jumped clear in the ranking class, and ended up third in the 2* Grand Prix which led us to having the right feeling to bring him to Gorla – and I am glad we did. I am very excited about Rocky; I think he can do anything. Once we produce him right, I hope to get him into a few five-star Nations Cup teams – I think he has all the potential.” 

I am very excited about Rocky; I think he can do anything

Seamus – who has competed in youth championships on many previous occasions – believes that these types of competitions are very important. “With these championships, I have always had something to work towards,” he explains. “And when you have the whole country behind you as well, it gives you a lot of purpose. You also get to meet so many people. However, they are always long weeks and it takes a lot of work to get there. I am lucky to have had a good team to go with, and my team at home is special as well. My mum was a big help in getting my horse up and going.” 

While the European Championships in Gorla was on the forefront of Seamus’ goals for the 2023-season, the horse he opted jumping there – ESI Rocky – was originally only his third choice. “My first plan was my mare Cuffesgrange Cavadora (Z Wellie 72 x Luidam) that won a few Grand Prix classes at the start of the year, but then she did not feel fit enough to go and compete in the hot weather. It is a long week to jump a championship over five rounds, especially in the extreme weather we knew to expect. I also had another 8-year-old, ESI Ali (Stakkato Gold x Tygo), who had a very good start of the year, being double clear in all ranking classes he jumped and winning three of them. However, we sold him just four weeks before the Europeans to Evergate Stables, so then I had to put all my time and energy into getting Rocky to the right shape. Thankfully, it all worked out.” 

Despite his young age, Gorla Minore was not the first time Seamus won a major championship. In 2019, when Seamus himself was only seventeen, he piloted Cuffesgrange Cavadora to a gold medal at the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses. 

Since then, Cuffesgrange Cavadora has gone on to win international Grand Prix classes, but their story together started already when Seamus was riding ponies: He turned Cavadora’s mother from a barely ridden nine-year-old broodmare to one of the best ponies Europe has ever seen. “We bought Cavadora’s dam – Cuffesgrange Cavalidam, a pony – from our neighbour, and I ended up going to the Europeans with her and we won the gold medal with the team. She also won the first ever pony World Cup before we sold her to Coolmore. She was already nine when we first bought her and had barely been ridden. I rode her all the way up the ranks to then be jumping the Europeans with her 2,5 years after we got her. I think she was one of the best ponies that Europe has ever seen; she was able to jump any two-star Grand Prix. As we liked her so much, we went back to her breeder and asked if she had given any foals; and Cavadora was there, in a field as a three-year-old. We bought her for little money and produced her all the way. She wasn’t an easy young horse, but she ended up very good.” 

We got into the sport very much locally, with ponies and horses from our neighbours which we have then produced ourselves

“We got into the sport very much locally, with ponies and horses from our neighbours which we have then produced ourselves – and just kept the ball rolling,” Seamus continues. “Rocky’s breeder is my uncle Andrew Hughes, and we bought both ESI Rocky and ESI Ali from him as two- and three-year-olds and then produced them ourselves. Andrew’s mother Mary passed away a few months before Rocky and Ali got their first big wins, and I just hope that she has looked down on us and been proud. The whole family really follows us; I know Andrew’s father is glued to the TV, watching the horses go. We are hoping to make them all proud, with the horses getting on well. My mum’s father Seamus, who many regard as one of the best horsemen in Ireland, passed in 1994, and I never got to meet him. However, I hope he would have been proud of me and the horses that go back to his breeding winning medals now.” 

Based in Kilkenny, Ireland, about an hour and a half from Dublin, the Hughes Kennedy-family has a well-known name as one of the Irish showjumping dynasties. At home, Seamus runs a yard together with his mother Claire – only a few kilometres down the road from his aunt Marion who runs the renowned HHS breeding farm. “My cousin Hugh is a big hand as well,” he tells. “He has been with me to all the shows this year. We have plenty of young horses coming through every year, and we do a lot of breeding. We have only kind of started just after my pony years. My mum has always been into horses and loved horses all her life. She used to trade a lot when she was younger, with her father Seamus, who sadly passed away when she was in her early twenties. Therefore, she ended up going to college and leaving the horses for a bit. However, she did hold on to a few mares, and had a few with my auntie Marion. It was only when I started riding that she got really back into it.” 

My mum has always been into horses and loved horses all her life

“At the Europeans, three members of the junior team were my second-cousins – all the Brennans from Kilkenny – so everyone is kind of very much into horses,” he continues. “I got into it slowly though; I didn’t really like riding until I was around 12 and started to do hunting. Jumping jumps in the fields is what got me hooked in the first place. My mum is so passionate about the breeding and the young horses, but once I had done my final exams two years ago, I was still on the fence on whether to go to college or not. However, at the time I already had very good horses and I felt that if I did not put the work into them, we would lose out on their potential. That’s why I decided to go at it full time, put in the work and now it seems to start paying off. Hopefully we can keep going and can eventually start winning senior medals in the years to come.” 

It is mainly just myself and my mum that run it day-by-day

With plenty of broodmares, Seamus has a lot to look forward to. “Five, ten, years down the line we start to have their offspring up on Grand Prix level,” he says. “It is expensive to buy ready horses, so for us it is a long game, a waiting game, to have our own horses at the higher level. We can produce them ourselves; we have good facilities and a good team. Gerard O’Neill from Castlefield is always there to support as well; advice on how to run the yard, what we should be aiming towards, how to keep it professional. However, it is mainly just myself and my mum that run it day-by-day. We have nine two-year-olds, yearlings and foals at the moment, but then a bit smaller numbers of three, four and five-year-olds – we are getting bigger every year. We have a few really nice young horses who I think have a lot of potential coming up, and we look forward to competing with them in the future.” 

While it was Seamus’ mother Claire that first taught him how to ride, the 21-year-old has never really had a full-time trainer. Last year, through their family connections, Seamus was lucky to meet Jos Kumps, who he says has made an immense impact on him. “Jos Kumps used to be Nelson Pessoa’s right-hand man and as my granddad used to sell horses to Nelson, my auntie Marion got to know Jos through him. Marion has been training at Pessoa’s, and that is how we got to know Jos. He has given me a lot of help on my flat work this year. We have worked on my own position, and he has taught me how to work my horses, how to be in tune with them and how to become a better horseman. It was only at the end of last year that I met him and I don’t think I would have had the year that I did without him. However, I never really had a full-time trainer. On the rainy days, I have to be very strict on myself not to fall into bad habits. Ger O’Neill lives a few minutes up the road, and I go to him regularly, he is fantastically focused and disciplined with laser focus on goals to work towards.” 

On the rainy days, I have to be very strict on myself not to fall into bad habits

Following his success at the Europeans in Gorla Minore, Seamus got to jump the five-star classes at Dublin Horse Show – making his first appearance at that level. “It was an exciting opportunity,” he says. “The atmosphere in Dublin is always special. I have been there every year for nearly my whole life, both to watch and to compete with ponies and in a few young horse classes. I feel really lucky to have had the chance to compete with all the big lads this time around. Since I got out of ponies, I have been spending my time on building up my team of horses and it has only been this year that I have had four horses at ranking level – moving up. Two of those horses are only eight, so I still have to build them up. Moving forward, getting into the bigger shows looks tough, especially for young riders. Thankfully, I got this opportunity now to ride in Dublin.” 

Long-term, Seamus’ goals evolve around producing his horses at home in Ireland and moving up the rankings. “I really enjoy Ireland and it is a great place to bring up your young horses,” he tells. “Over the last few years, we have also seen an improvement in the bigger classes. However, there aren’t a whole lot of international classes here, so we do have to head out a bit. When you are bringing up young horses, there is no better place, but once they get older and you want to start moving up the rankings and compete against the best riders, Europe is the place to go. I might have to base myself in Europe for longer stints with a couple of horses to try and move up the world ranking, and to eventually start getting into the Nations Cup teams. One of my big goals would be to one day jump the Aga Khan at Dublin Horse Show – the five-star Nations Cup there. It is every Irish man’s dream to jump clear there. It is something I have watched every year since I was five and was able to understand horses. Ultimately, I just want to move up to senior level and be competitive there.” 

“If we win, we win, but making progress is the best feeling there is,” Seamus concludes. “What I enjoy the most, is the feeling of a horse starting to come together. Like with Rocky – who is a very hot horse – it took us a long time to get him to do what he did in Gorla Minore. I love when a plan comes together; there is nothing quite like it." 

23.8.2023 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission, all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com. If copyright violations occur, a penalty fee will apply.