THE HORSES Sinead says that she has been lucky to have ridden some very nice horses in her lifetime, but due to various circumstances she has usually not had the opportunity to compete any horse more than two or three years. She recalls that her first advanced horse, Killian, was a hot


Thoroughbred that continually dumped her on the ground in the show jumping. “I really had to slowly build a relationship with him so he would stop chucking me in the dirt!” she laughs. “That is when I really started learning about how important a relationship is with your horse. In my first year competing Killian I was eliminated twice in show jumping for falling off; a year and a half later he took me to my first 3-star, but he was unfortunately injured after that.” Her next event horse, Glitterati, owned by Nancy


Neubeiser, was another sensitive Thoroughbred. “Eddie had an incredibly unusual jumping style and got incredibly nervous in the dressage,” she says. “I love, love, loved Eddie but after nine two-stars, including CICs, we just could not get him comfortable enough in the dressage and ended up selling him to a Young Rider. Then there was Tommy II. “Tommy was so sweet but he


always tried too hard,” she says. “It took so much time to get him to trust me, but eventually he did. He took me on to win the Radnor two-star and I was sure he was going to be a solid advanced partner for me. The next spring I lost Tommy in a fall at our second advanced horse trials. Tommy reinforced to me the need for a true relationship with your horse and also showed me some of my biggest highs in the sport as well as experiencing the biggest low you could imagine. Every horse I have ridden has given me something to add to the tool box, but these three are the ones that taught me about patience, relationships, honesty, love and pain that are all part of eventing.” In addition to her current mount Tate, Sinead currently


has two exciting young Irish horses in her barn. One is a seven-year-old called Classical King who she says is one of the best jumpers she has ever ridden. “He was bred by and is still owned by [U.S. team veterinarian and his wife] Brendan and Wendy Furlong. He has been very successful at prelim and we will look at some intermediates in the fall. The other is a stunning six-year-old Master Imp baby called Lux who has got all the movement, looks, and most of all the brains necessary to become a top level event horse, so I am excited about these two!” She describes her horses as a couple of characters: “King is the guy at the pub who is so naturally talented but never really has to try; he can drink pints all day and still beat everyone in a jumping contest! For example, he doesn’t get rattled by anything—he can literally trip and end up trotting two steps before a four foot jump and I’m grabbing mane and people are gasping, and he can’t figure out what the big deal is as he clears the fence by a foot, checking the time


Tommy II and Sinead in 2005. Photo by Amy Dragoo


while jumping. Lux is a doll— he has no idea how special he is and his soft, light nature reminds me a lot of Tate.”


TICKET TO THE BIG TIME: MANOIR DE CARNEVILLE Sinead explains that she and Tate have spent the last few years working on developing a system for all three phases. “Tate is somewhat of a funny horse. He is not a hot or worried horse, but he is not exactly a ‘worker,’ and his confidence is not the type that handles being put in tough situations.” To improve, one must keep pushing past her comfort


zone, so Sinead has worked hard at competitions and at home, trying to formulate a training system that keeps Tate happy while getting him to the next level in his performances. “The main ingredient in this equation has been time and patience,” says Sinead. “This spring is the first time I have felt very confident and trusted the system we have developed and fortunately the results have just added trust to our plan.” Canadian textiles company Ecogold, which manufactures


high-tech saddle pads and horse boots, began to sponsor Sinead after meeting her in Aiken in January 2010. Marketing V.P. Patricia Da Silva remarks, “At the time, she was an up-and- coming rider like many others, but her magnetic personality set her apart. Since then, her achievements as a rider have surpassed all my expectations. At Ecogold, we are thrilled with Sinead’s success at Rolex Kentucky. And on a personal level, I’m glad I left my booth to watch her clear show


Warmbloods Today 23


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