Rosemary Gaffney has defied a terrible sequence of injuries to establish herself as an international para equestrian champion, reports Siobhán English

travelled to an international competition as chef d’equipe. Little did I know that years later I would actually become a Para Equestrian rider.”

Classification is based on the rider’s disability, with Grade 1 being the most disabled, and Grade V for riders with the least disability.

“Riders are classified by a specially-trained physiotherapist who uses a strict set of criteria. I was classified first in Ireland and then in England to allow me to compete internationally at Grade IV (now Grade V).”

In July of that year Ms Gaffney won the Freestyle at the CPEDI*** at Hartpury College in the UK and emerged as Grade IV individual champion at the show. “What a wonderful moment it was to hear the national anthem being played for an Irish dressage rider at an international,” she said.

Over the following few months, Rosemary trained with a view to making the cut for the 2011 European Para Equestrian Dressage Championships and she was delighted to get the call-up for Moorsele, where she achieved a best individual placing of seventh.

While the London Olympics were always on her agenda, it was not to be, and she just missed out on selection in favour of Helen Kearney who went on to win three medals at the 2012 Games, including team bronze.

Naturally disappointed at being the ‘bridesmaid’ she continued training and another host of good results saw her selected for the 2013 Europeans, where once again she finished in the top 15 in the individual rankings.

Having enjoyed the national circuit over the winter, Rosemary was eagerly looking forward to the 2014 campaign, but disaster was to strike once again and she suffered an equally horrific accident in January of that year.

“This time I was riding a young horse,” she remembers. “It was in the outdoor school and he was spooked by someone operating an electric drill when it struck off metal. I landed on my feet in the fall, but in doing that I put out my good leg to save my bad one, and suffered 40 breaks from my hip to my ankle. Afterwards the doctor said it was like a shattered windscreen.”

This time the outlook looked a lot bleaker, and for the first 24 hours she believed that her career in the saddle was definitely over. “I did think about it, but I had to remain positive.”

Bedridden

After six operations in 10 days, Rosemary faced a lengthy spell in hospital, and from there was almost bedridden for a further six months.

For many riders it would have been enough to see them into retirement, but Rosemary Gaffney is not one to give up and by April of 2015 she was back competing on the international circuit.

“I had to be re-classified as Grade III (now Grade IV) due to my second injury, but it was great to be back and I went on to win the Freestyle on a personal best score of 74.55pc at the three-star show in Bishop Burton in England.”

Delighted with this score she hoped it boded well for the European Championships that September, but luck was still not on her side and it was all over when her mount Aldham Mill Dubloon went lame.

“It was around then I decided to get a new horse and I found Bink in Holland. I was so confident that I bought him from a video,” she recalled.

Indeed the 10-year-old Dutch-bred gelding emerged as a wonderful mount and throughout the summer of 2016 provided his rider with a host of top-three placings, thereby looking a strong contender for Rio. However, the competition was strong and Helen Kearney was again chosen to fly the flag, eventually finishing individual 12th.

“I have put all of that behind me now but I am determined to be the ‘bride’ when Tokyo comes around,” says Rosemary, having recently assisted the team to a second place finish at Hartpury in the UK.

“I am still competing against able-bodied riders and have qualified for the National Championships in the autumn, but for now the plan is to represent Ireland possibly as an individual at the European Para Equestrian Dressage Championships in Gothenburg at the end of next month,” she added.

I SUFFERED 40 BREAKS FROM FROM MY HIP TO MY ANKLE. THE DOCTOR SAID IT WAS LIKE A SHATTERED WINDSCREEN