Tulla showjumper part of European silver medal-winning Irish team

TOM Foley from Dangan in Tulla was part of the Irish South Showjumping team at the European finals last weekend. The team won silver medals and Tom finished sixth overall. Ireland had to jump off with Belgium for the medal last week when Germany won the gold. It was the Tulla teenager’s first time competing in the European championships and he is eligible for this event for another two years.
A third year pupil at St Joseph’s in Tulla where he will be sitting for his Junior Certificate exam in the coming year, 14-year-old Tom has been competing since he was five-years-old.
“He was on the winning team in Holland two weeks ago and on the Irish team, which also did well in France in April where Tom won the grand prix event,” his
mother Carmel explained from the RDS in Dublin this week, where Tom will compete today, Thursday and Friday on his pony Dididoe, which came from the Netherlands.
“There was always a pony at home and he just started at a young age and loves it,” added Carmel.
Tom, who is currently in the top three in the European league,
travels to Scotland this Sunday for the Home Ponies International Show next week. He qualified as a member of the winning team in Cavan earlier this year. Tom’s trainer is Stephen Cox from Limerick.