Wonder horse: astonishing success of showjumping champ with just one eye
BALLSBRIDGE has been the stage for amazing feats of horsemanship in the past week, but the bravery of one horse competing at the Dublin Horse Show has trumped every daredevil rider and fearless steed.
When Trevor Breen and Adventure De Kannan take on the fearsome obstacles, they are competing not just with the other horses and riders, but with another major challenge, for the 14-year-old gelding has just one eye.
Last year, Breen and the horse’s owner, Karen Swann, were forced to make the decision to have the horse’s right eye removed. He suffered from uveitis, a condition that caused ulcers in the eye.
Adventure De Kannan’s vision had been reduced to 25pc in the affected eye prior to the operation and Breen was concerned about the effect it would have on the horse, but the Tipperary native need not have worried.
“He had about seven weeks between the operation and returning to showjumping and he picked up where he had left off. It didn’t bother him at all. It wasn’t like one day he had 100pc vision in both eyes and lost one, he was gradually adjusting, so the last step wasn’t a huge step, it was just the final one,” he says. “He can see perfectly out of the left one, but he is such a clever and intelligent horse that no matter what adversity he would be in, he would find a way to deal with it. And he would find a way to do what he loves, which is jumping.”
Initially, Breen modified how he rode the gelding in his first schooling sessions after the operation, but Adventure De Kannan was not happy with the changes and the rider returned to his former methods. The familiarity helped ‘Addy’ adjust quickly to the loss of his eye and soon he was among the rosettes once more, with a second place in the Hickstead Derby, a tantalising taster of the glory that was to come.
Last weekend, Breen and Addy became only the second partnership to win the prestigious Hickstead Derby and Queen Elizabeth II Cup in the same year. It is a rare achievement in a fiercely-competitive sport, but he has a fantastic record around the famous track.
He won the Speed Derby in 2009 and the 2011 Eventing Grand Prix, adding the All-England Grand Prix a year later and was placed in the Derby itself before his triumph this year.
The affection Breen has for Addy shines through. “There is nothing he can’t do and there is certainly nothing he wouldn’t try and do. He gives his best every day. Some days it is not good enough, but the majority of the time it is. He is a fantastic horse. . . We have a good bond and we fight for each other.”
Breen ascribes Adventure De Kannan’s prowess over Hickstead’s jumping banks and dykes to the bay gelding’s first career as an eventer. He tackles more conventional obstacles in the RDS main arena this afternoon when he lines up for the Longine’s International Grand Prix after qualifying last Thursday. The Dublin show has taken on added significance for his rider since he relocated to Buckinghamshire three years ago.
“I think every Irishman wants to jump Dublin because it is your home crowd, it is a special feeling going into that arena,” he says. Looking ahead to this afternoon’s highlight, he adds, “We will give it our best shot and see what happens.”