Tom Slattery appointed as Ireland's high performance pony coach

Horse Sport Ireland and Showjumping Ireland have announced that Tom Slattery will be the high performance coach and chef d’equipe of the pony show jumping team for 2011. Tom will also act as show jumping coach to the pony eventing team. He replaces Ian Fearon who stood down last Autumn.

Tom has huge experience as an international rider having featured in many Irish Nations Cup teams. He was also national show jumping champion in 1999, 2000 and 2001. He is currently a Horse Sport Ireland accredited coach. In the past he has acted as chef d’equipe and team trainer for the senior show jumping team and has previously acted as the chef d’equipe for Ireland’s pony teams.

Speaking after the announcement, SJI chairman Christy Murphy, who chaired the HSI interview board, said that Tom Slattery was an excellent candidate for the post

"The team had great success in recent years and expectations are high for 2011," said Christy. "Tom has a formal coaching qualification and a huge amount of experience and I have no doubt he will make a success of the role."

Speaking after his appointment Tom Slattery said he was looking forward to the role.

"Ireland has some very strong riders and ponies for 2011 and the system that was in place for the last two years has worked well," he said. "I look forward to working with the riders and their families to achieve the best possible results for Ireland."

Tom Slattery will form part of Horse Sport Ireland’s high performance pony show jumping committee. The committee will consist of Mark Bolger, who will chair the committee; Katy Saunders, who is the SJI nominee, and Keith Griffin, who is HSI’s nominee. This committee will oversee the running of the programme but all selection decisions will be made by the chef d’equipe.