Ealier this month, Gavin Harley collected the prestigious Young Rider of the Year award at the Showjumper’s Awards Gala in Kildare. Gavin (21) was a member of the Irish young rider team which claimed a historic gold medal at the European Showing Jumping Championships in Millstreet in Cork at the end of July.
After Christmas, he returns to Brussels to embark on an exciting new chapter in his career.
On Tuesday, he spoke to the Donegal News about his plans for 2017, breeding, competing against the best riders in the world and taking part in future Olympics Games.
“It’s funny. My first cousin (Martin) lives next door to me here and I always fancied his job but I’m too big. You need a special build to be a jockey and he’s lucky in that he’s tall but light boned while I’m also tall but with heavier bones and it would be too sore on me to try and make the weight.
“Then again, National Hunt racing could prove to be far too dangerous for me so I’ll stay away from that,” he laughed. Gavin has just been named the ‘Young Rider of the Year’ by his peers, completing a great year which also saw him win the Young Rider Grand Prix aboard the 12-year-old stallion, Understone Van De Kapel, at the international show in Opglabbeek, Belgium, in May.
The young man, who has been based with the Van Paescchen family in Brussels, Belgium for the past three years, is changing jobs in the new year.
“I’m going back to Belgium and while nothing is finalised yet I have an Irish backer who is prepared to support me which will enable me to do a bit more for myself. It will allow me to focus more on the breeding side of things as well as getting the opportunity to compete at some of the bigger shows,” he explained.
He’s come a long way from the days when he travelled to shows across the country with his parents Martina and Gerard, brothers Mark and Oisin, and sister Emer competing for the East Donegal Pony Club.
“We had a horse lorry at the time and we were blessed to have such good parents who travelled the country with us. We lived and slept in that lorry. We were very lucky children growing up,” he said.
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