Photo courtesy of Sport Horse Ireland
Brazilian Show Jumping dynasty and superstar Rodrigo Pessoa will be the Team Manager and Chef d’Equipe of the Irish Show Jumping Team, Horse Sport Ireland announced yesterday. Under no uncertain terms, Irish leadership made it clear this appointment was made in hopes of “delivering medals” for a team chock full of talent but somehow left off the podium at major events all too often.
44-year-old Rodrigo is a formidable choice for leading a team to victory; the famed rider has a gold and two bronze Olympic medals and won the FEI World Cup Final three years in a row aboard his iconic Baloubet Du Rouet.
Additionally, Rodrigo has a long history of leadership in the sport, having served as president of the IJRC and as athlete representative to the FEI for Show Jumping.
He is equally admired for his character and love of fair sport. Rodrigo was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin World Fair Play Diploma in 2010 following the World Equestrian Games, where he offered his fellow competitors advice on riding his mount Rebozza in the final four showdown. He would go on to finish fourth, but earned the admiration and respect of fans and fellow riders.
Of his new role, Rodrigo Pessoa said: “I am looking forward to working with this very talented group of riders and horses in the near future. At the end of August we have the European Championships in Sweden where we want to have a strong team ready to battle for top positions. I want to thank Horse Sport Ireland for giving me this opportunity and hope that we will be successful together.”
The pressure will be on Pessoa and the high performance team, who despite multiple nations cup wins and a slew of superstars failed to qualify a team for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Bertram Allen secured an individual slot for an Irish Olympian, but Horse Sport Ireland opted to give the slot to Greg Broderick, who did not qualify beyond the opening round in Rio.
Horse Sport Ireland interim CEO James Kennedy added,
“I wish Rodrigo the very best of luck in his new position and we look forward to a new chapter in Irish Show Jumping with a shared goal of delivering medals.”
Let the countdown to WEG 2018 begin.
[Rodrigo Pessoa appointed Senior High Performance Director of the Irish Show Jumping team]