Text © World of Showjumping

With the summer season well underway, 20-year-old Tom Wachman has gone from strength to strength on the Irish team – proving that he is a rider who can handle the pressure that comes with competing for your country at top level. In June, Wachman jumped a decisive clear in round two of the CSIO5* 1.60m Barrière Nations Cup in La Baule which helped Ireland to the win. Two weeks later he was the best rider on the Irish team with only time faults over the two rounds of the Longines League of Nations™ in Rotterdam. On both occasions, Tom was partnered with the brilliant 10-year-old gelding Tabasco de Toxandria Z (Thunder vd Zuuthoeve x Cento Lano) – a horse he refers to as “unbelievable”.

Straight from a strong debut at CHIO Aachen, as part of the Irish team with Tabasco de Toxandria Z in the CSIO5* 1.60m €1,000,000 Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup, Tom now turns his focus to this week's FEI Jumping European Championship for Young Riders, Juniors & Children 2025 in Riesenbeck. 

Wachman is no stranger to success; he has already made his mark as a junior and young rider. In 2022, riding Lazzaro delle Schiave (Acodetto x Glücksgriff), he was part of the Irish junior team that won bronze at the European Championships in Oliva, and the year after he claimed team gold and individual silver with Cathalina S (Catoki x Sandro) at the Europeans in Gorla Minore. Stepping up to young riders in 2024, Tom repeated the team gold with Cathalina S in Peelbergen. 

Born into a family with deep roots in the racing industry – his grandfather John Magnier owns the renowned Coolmore Stud, which is considered to be the world’s biggest thoroughbred racehorse breeding operation – it was perhaps to be expected that Tom, his brother Max and sister Alice would start riding. However, Tom did not show much interest for horses at an early age – he preferred playing hurling. “All my family are into horses, mainly racing which is our family business,” Tom tells. “When I grew up, there was always racing on the TV and most of the conversations we had were about horses. However, I didn't like riding that much – I was more into other sports – but my brother Max wanted to ride and one day, when I was 8 or 9, I followed along to his riding school. That’s how it all began."

"After a little, we started doing the ponies. Not long after, our mum was driving us all around the country doing the pony shows. We were so lucky that she was always behind us supporting, and it just went from there."

Competitive by nature, Tom was quickly caught by the jumping bug and started showing on ponies. “The Irish pony shows are very competitive, and I really liked that side of it. All the classes were very fast and when I was younger that was a good bit of fun – I enjoyed it,” Tom tells. “A lot of the best Irish riders came up through that pony circuit, and I think it really teaches you from a young age. Competing against so many talented riders like that is good for your own riding. It’s very competitive all the way along, and it brings everyone's standards up.”

In 2017, when he was only 12 and still riding ponies, Tom – and his brother Max – started training with Cian O’Connor and both quickly progressed. “I did my first Europeans for ponies in 2018 with Quaprice d’Astree, and the year after I was part of the team that won gold with Ocean des As. From there on, it gradually progressed onto horses,” Tom explains.

Although Tom has already amassed an impressive record of results at top level, he has not only been focusing on his sports career. “I enjoyed school and I studied quite hard for my leaving certificate; I wanted to do well to get into commerce at the University College Dublin,” he tells. “I just finished my three-year degree in college this spring.”

“I was lucky as I was part of the Ad Astra Sports Academy and that helped me balance my academic obligations in college with my competition schedule,” Tom explains. “Obviously, there's a lot of travel involved with the jumping, so I wasn't in college too much, but I always studied the notes from the lectures and made sure I was there for group projects and exams.”

“Cian has been an unbelievable support too, as has his great team of staff at Karlswood with Ross Mulholland and Michael Kelly at the helm,” Tom points out. “A really good structure there has allowed me to focus on my academic goals and also participate in the family business.”

“I moved my horses to Karlswood when I started college; the commute was shorter for me – it was only a 40 minutes’ drive,” Tom explains. “In between shows, we also stay in mainland Europe because it’s obviously a long travel to go back to Ireland. I have learned a lot working alongside Cian at Karlswood; he’s brilliant at what he is doing. Not many riders are in the top ten in the world and simultaneously have such a huge business running. Cian is great at finding horses and at training, and he is someone who really excels in what he does.”

“It’s a big set-up at Karlswood, with a huge number of horses there, but every horse gets equal attention and care,” Tom tells. “The horses have everything they can wish for, and there is a tailored and unique approach to each horse in all aspects of their daily lives. Cian is also great at bringing knowledge in from the outside; we have had Tristan Tucker coming to teach us, and Peter Eriksson comes frequently to help with our flatwork – it’s a lot of people to bounce ideas off from.”

O’Connor is well-known for his meticulous approach to flatwork, which Tom has found to be of great advantage to build confidence in the ring. “In terms of training with Cian, the focus has always been on classical flatwork, as well as canter poles – already from when we were riding ponies. Cian has a structured and systematic approach, and he applies a lot of Gerry Mullins’ coaching syllabus in his own training.”

“From an early age, it has been emphasized to us that in order to become a well-rounded rider, you have to be able to balance feeling with structure and technique. The approach in Cian’s training has helped me develop those aspects in my riding, and it has stood to us long term,” Tom says.

“When I got to five-star level and started doing these Grand Prix classes and Nations Cups, I found confidence in having these basics to fall back on,” Tom details. “Like in situations where I have to stay out on a specific number of strides to the water, or need to add a stride to the combination, or leave one out to the last for the time allowed. It has also helped me when I do a jump-off; if you can walk your course really well and you can count the strides around the turns it definitely gives you an advantage.”

“It’s a great system to rely on, especially when the pressure comes on. Knowing that I can execute a specific number of strides between each fence that suits my horse gives me great confidence,” Tom explains. “Structure and system don’t replace feeling or natural ability, but rather it all goes hand in hand as you also must be able to adapt to how the course is riding and sometimes be ready to execute a Plan B.”

Aspiring to develop his eye to also spot a promising young horse, Tom has together with Cian and his brother Max set up a company called WOW Trading – an addition to the busy 20-year-old’s portfolio. “We have a lot of young horses at home in Ireland being produced; some to keep and some to be sold,” Tom explains. “We have also been buying some older ones that we have brought to America to sell there. It's a tough business and there's many clever people out there already, so it's a lot of work – you need to be on the ball so you find the horses early enough. It’s gone really expensive to buy a good horse, even when they are young, so you need to be able to spot them a little bit earlier on than before.”

“Cian has been brilliant to learn from,” Tom continues. “He has found and sold so many good horses throughout his career; he first saw Tabasco as a 6-year-old, found Fancy as a 7-year-old and Kilkenny as an 8-year-old – all of them have gone through to the top. There is rarely a good horse that comes through that Cian hasn't seen or hasn't looked into. Obviously, not every horse we have acquired have turned out as good as we might have expected, but there is a home for all of them where they find their best job.” 

“As such it has also been a good experience; the showjumping industry is so vast. There are markets for junior horses, young rider horses, U25 horses and amateur horses too – there are so many levels in this sport, which is brilliant, and they also differ globally from Europe to North America, or even from California to Wellington. Obviously, I love competing, but I enjoy the trading too,” Tom points out. 

“I think that when you start to come to these five-star shows, you realize how important scope is,” Tom says about which qualities he looks for in a young horse. “When you get to this level, you really see how much jump the horses need to have. In addition, they need to be brave, they need to have a good mind, they need to be careful and also rideable. I especially believe that in order to sell a horse, it is important to have nice rideability."

Tom, like his brother Max, has been fortunate with the horses that have found their way to his stable – and he is the first to point it out. “Obviously, we're lucky that we can keep some of the horses we buy for ourselves to ride,” he says. “That is all thanks to my family and my grandparents especially.” 

“At the moment, Tabasco is my best horse – he's unbelievable,” Tom continues. “He is very careful, scopey and brave. He also has a great brain. I started with him last autumn and he straight away won a three-star Grand Prix in Valencia. Then we went out to America, and he was very good; double clear and fourth in two five-star Grand Prix classes in Ocala and Wellington. He also jumped very well in the Longines League of Nations™ in Ocala. Back in Europe, he helped the GCL team St Tropez Pirates finish third in Madrid after jumping clear. In La Baule, he jumped clear in the second round to help the Irish team win the Nations Cup, and in Rotterdam we only had time faults in the two rounds of the Longines League of Nations™, so yeah, he's unbelievable. I'm very lucky to be riding him and without him I probably wouldn't be at these shows.”

“I also have two very nice horses to go underneath Tabasco at five-star level,” Tom tells. “One of them is Obora’s Laura (Luidam x Non Stop) who is very good and consistent – she's developing more jump all the time and just did her first four-star Grand Prix. My plan with her is this year's young rider Europeans. The second horse is Do It Easy (Vigo Cece x Laeken); he’s really experienced, solid, and fast – he can do a speed class or a Grand Prix, he’s very versatile.”

“Ireland is a very competitive country, and it's hard to get on the team, so obviously you need to be going well,” Tom says about his latest appearances on the Irish team – which have really put him in the spotlight as one to watch for the future. “And then when you get on the team, there's a bit of a pressure that you need to deliver. Otherwise, you know there are going to be plenty more riders to take your place – which I think is only healthy.”

“Michael Blake has been brilliant for Ireland. He has given a lot of young riders a chance, used a lot of different riders across different Nations Cups and he has been very successful with his strategy,” Tom says about the Irish High-Performance Jumping Director. “For us younger riders, the Nations Cups give a really good experience; they put you in those pressure situations like no other competition does. What has also been great to experience is that every Irish rider, regardless of if on the team or not, wants Ireland to win.”

“Personally, I don't think about the pressure that comes with it too much; I’m lucky to be riding a good horse and I trust my horse. As I said before, the way we trained with Cian so that we can do the numbers and really make a plan and stick to it is something I find a lot of confidence in when I go into the ring,” Tom explains about jumping for the Irish team. “And I think that's one thing in my riding which is quite good; I can stick to a plan – I have that to fall back on and that's my security. I learned a lot from Cian too, he’s done so many Nations Cup so there is no one better to have guide you.”

Looking forwards, Tom has ambitions – but they are not only related to showjumping. “I like to be busy and now that I'm finished with college, I'll focus more on our family business and obviously the racing is a big part of that,” Tom explains. “As to sport goals, short-term I'd love to try and do well at the young rider Europeans this summer. Of course, Dublin Horse Show is a goal every year – it’s an amazing show and it's nice to be competing in front of your home crowd.”

“Looking at the sport in a long-term perspective, competing for Ireland is my biggest goal,” Tom says. “I would like to do a few senior championships and maybe one day an Olympic Games – that’s the pinnacle of the sport in my opinion. It's great to wear the green jacket and a day like when we won the Nations Cup in La Baule is really special; I dream of winning the Aga Khan one day too. But, I would also like to grow WOW Trading – continue to try and find nice young horses to develop. I also look forward to being involved in our different family businesses going on inside and outside of horses.”

“I'm really lucky that I have lots of great people to learn from, whether it’s at Coolmore or Karlswood,” Tom says as he looks forward. “You get great advice and learn new things just by being around and by being involved. There is so much you can pick up on, and so much you can learn.”

9.7.2025 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.