Horse Sport Ireland has announced that Irish Show Jumping Senior High Performance Director Rodrigo Pessoa have signed a contract extension.

Former Olympic, World Cup and World Champion, Brazil-born Rodrigo Pessoa was appointed Irish Show Jumping Senior High Performance Director (incorporating the role of Team Manager/Chef d'Equipe) in March 2017. Later that year he guided the Irish team, sponsored by Devenish & The Underwriting Exchange, to the gold medal at the European Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden. Pessoa's team were named 2017 RTÉ Sport "Team of the Year," beating off strong competition to win by public vote.

The season ahead will see Pessoa bid to secure Olympic qualification for the Irish team, with three Olympic places on offer at the 2019 European Championships in The Netherlands, and one final place on offer at the 2019 FEI Nations Cup Final. Pessoa has signed a one-year extension to his current contract, with an option to renew for a further year.

Pessoa said: "I am honored that Horse Sport Ireland has chosen to reappoint me for another year to continue what we started in 2017. It has been an incredible human and sporting experience for me [as Irish team manager]. I have enjoyed all the good times we have had and also learned a lot from any failures which only make us better. Now we turn all our attention to focus on Rotterdam [venue for the 2019 European Championships] and qualification for the Olympics is an absolute priority for Team Ireland this year."

Source: Press release from Horse Sport Ireland

Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson/World of Showjumping