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As May gave way to June, Ireland’s 23-year-old Seamus Hughes Kennedy was making his name noticed with two significant debut performances on five-star level. Riding ESI Rocky (Stakkato Gold x For Pleasure), Seamus was part of the winning Irish team in the CSIO5* 1.60m Barriére Nations Cup in La Baule (FRA) where the pair jumped a double clear round, while in the CSIO5* 1.60m Rolex Grand Prix of Rome (ITA) a week prior, the two were flawless as well and placed fourth in their first five-star Grand Prix. This past weekend, the two once again impressed as part of the Irish team in the CSIO5* Longines League of Nations™ in Rotterdam (NED), with only a time penalty in round two after a four-fault score the first time out. 

“Once we can have a good enough plan, Rocky is so talented that he can jump anything anywhere,” Seamus – who has produced the 10-year-old gelding all the way from the youngster classes through to the top – tells World of Showjumping. “I am happy to be able to have the ride on him and to have such a good team behind us that make it possible to move up to a level where we are jumping against the best in the world.”

“My mother Clare and my father Melvyn have been great supporters and I couldn't have done it without them,” Seamus says. “My mother keeps things organised in a way that allows us to come to these five-star shows and ride against the best. She plays a massive role in the operation we have at home in Kilkenny; she's always looking at the young horse scene and she’s got a great eye for a horse, while my father is great to rally the Irish spirits at the shows and also a big help at home. We have a great team and I owe a big thank you to them, to my family, and to my groom Georgia Kelly who takes great care of our horses.”

ESI Rocky – a horse bred by Seamus’ uncle Andrew Hughes – was Seamus’ ride for the 2023 FEI Jumping European Championships for young riders, juniors and children in Gorla Minore, Italy, where the then 21-year-old made history when winning the individual gold for young riders – Ireland’s first ever of its kind in that age category. 

Following his success at the Europeans in Gorla Minore, Seamus got to jump the five-star classes at the 2023-edition of Dublin Horse Show – making his first appearance at five-star level. “I suppose I've been very lucky with the five-star shows I've done,” Hughes Kennedy, who since has jumped at three other iconic venues, says. “I have jumped in Dublin, Geneva, Rome and La Baule, which are all traditional, Rolex-backed, shows. It's been a great journey so far.”

“We have worked a lot on his rideability, and have also taken him back down a few levels,” Seamus tells about the road from the championship in Gorla Minore to being on the winning Nations Cup team in La Baule. “Now, we are building him back up. As a nine-year-old, I jumped Rocky in the Longines EEF Nations Cup Series when we got to do Warsaw. That was the first time I jumped on a senior team for Michael Blake, and then he took me to a few more teams in three- and four-star Nations Cups in Morocco and Spain.”

Being a part of last year’s Young Riders Academy team, Seamus got an opportunity to compete at the 2024-edition of CHI Geneva. “The Young Riders Academy has been a big help to my career so far and I was very grateful to head to Geneva to jump my second five-star show ever,” he tells. “Rocky got to jump two of the big classes there and stayed clear the whole week. Geneva is one of the best shows in the world and to see all the top ranked riders with their best horses, all obviously wanting to win the Grand Prix and the IJRC Rolex Top 10 Final, was great. I learned a lot from watching these riders with their best horses trying to do well and it gave me new ideas in how to approach things with Rocky.”

After a break following Geneva, Seamus headed to the Andalucía Sunshine Tour in Vejer de la Frontera, Spain, to start off the year. “There, Rocky jumped two four-star Grand Prix classes and was double clear in both which was enough for Michael Blake to bring us to Lier for another EEF show. Then we were sent individually to Rome, where we got to do our first five-star Grand Prix. It was great to be able to go to Rome. Cian [O’Connor] was chatting to me about how he was there back in 2002 – which is when I was born. He told me about that time, when he was a young lad coming out to the shows like I do now. After jumping double clear and placing 4th in Rome, we were good enough to be put on the team for La Baule,” Seamus tells.

“There are big jumps, lots of technicality, and the time allowed is always tight,” Seamus says about the difference he has experienced between five-star shows and the lower levels. “You have to be sure of what you're doing.”

Hailing from a well-known horse-family in Ireland, Seamus has had great support stepping up the levels. “I have to give a big thanks to Gerard O’Neill from Castlefield. He's a great man to walk the course with; he has a solid plan. Anytime there's any chance of making a mistake, he'll iron it out and we'll go through it so many times that we'll make the mistake in our head. By the time we're in the ring, we have gone through it so many times that there's nothing left to chance. I suppose that's what gave us the edge in Rome; we had a very good plan. My cousin Hugh McOwan was there to help as well,” Seamus tells.

“In La Baule, I had to deviate a small bit off our plan in the first round when the crowd was clapping and Rocky got a little hot underneath me,” he continues. “However, I know him so well, so I was able to manage him in the first round over the first three lines and then he really got into it and jumped spectacular. In the second round, we had it all ironed out and I was able to do all the strides and numbers perfectly.”

While jumping clear in the first round of the Nations Cup in La Baule qualified Seamus for Sunday’s Rolex Grand Prix Ville de La Baule, he opted not to start – following the advice from the Irish chef d’equipe Michael Blake. “It's not that he was not allowing us to do the Grand Prix, it's just that we have a plan,” Seamus explains. “We went to Rome to jump the Grand Prix; we were there as individuals and that was the aim – and we jumped double clear, ended up 4th and were delighted with that result. In La Baule, we were going to be on the team. We came, did our job and got a double clear round. With Rocky, we have to pick and choose our battles. With Rotterdam two weeks after, it was better to get home and get him out into the field. This way, we could go to battle again in Rotterdam.”

“Rocky is such a good horse, and I think he could have done very well in the Grand Prix in La Baule,” Seamus continues. “However, I have to think about the bigger picture. Michael Blake has been great in giving us the opportunity to come to these shows, and Rocky is still a relatively green horse; it was his first five-star Grand Prix in Rome and his first Nations Cup in La Baule. It was better for him to get time to think about everything and have a bit of a break to rest up his body.”

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