Horse Sport Ireland, the governing body for equestrian sport in Ireland, are delighted to announce that Irish Show Jumping Senior High Performance Director Rodrigo Pessoa, have both signed contract extensions.

Former Olympic, World Cup and World Champion, Brazil-born Rodrigo Pessoa was appointed Irish Show Jumping Senior High Performance Director (incorporating the role of Team Manager/Chef d’Equipe) in March 2017. Later that year he guided the Irish team, sponsored by Devenish & The Underwriting Exchange, to the gold medal at the European Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden. Pessoa’s team were named 2017 RTÉ Sport “Team of the Year,” beating off strong competition to win by public vote.

The season ahead will see Pessoa bid to secure Olympic qualification for the Irish Show Jumping team, with three Olympic places on offer at the 2019 European Championships in The Netherlands, and one final place on offer at the 2019 FEI Nations Cup final. Pessoa has signed a one-year extension to his current contract, with an option to renew for a further year.

Pessoa said:

“I am honored that Horse Sport Ireland has chosen to reappoint me for another year to continue what we started in 2017. It has been an incredible human and sporting experience for me [as Irish team manager]. I have enjoyed all the good times we have had and also learned a lot from any failures which only make us better. Now we turn all our attention to focus on Rotterdam [venue for the 2019 European Championships] and qualification for the Olympics is an absolute priority for Team Ireland this year.”

Horse Sport Ireland CEO Ronan Murphy said:
“We are delighted that both Sally Corscadden and Rodrigo Pessoa have agreed to extend their contracts with us. We are extremely lucky to have two managers of the highest caliber at the helm of our Eventing and Show Jumping teams along with their hugely important support staff. We look forward to what promises to be another exciting year in 2019 and wish all our teams the very best of luck.”

Gerry Mullins, Chairman of the Horse Sport Ireland High Performance Show Jumping Committee added:
“I am delighted that the Board of HSI has shown confidence in the current Irish team management of Rodrigo Pessoa and his assistant Michael Blake. I look forward to the close co-operation between our High Performance Committee and the Irish international riders together with their owners who give so generously of their time and horses to the national team effort. Qualification for the Olympics will be the main aim for 2019 and our focus on that starts right now.”

Source: Press release by Horse Sport Ireland

Photo: © Horse Sport Ireland / Sonya Hennessy