Few of Ireland’s sporting superstars are less recognisable to the general public than Shane Sweetnam but the US-based Cork rider is box-office in the world of elite showjumping right now, holding a career high of fifth in the FEI world rankings.
His first Rolex Grand Prix success, at the illustrious Falsterbo Horse Show last month, was the equestrian equivalent of winning a tennis or golf ‘major’ and came after a nail-biting climax, when his partner James Kann Cruz’s hind-end slipped on the final tight turn, causing an audible gasp in the packed Swedish Arena. Yet ‘Gizmo’, as his big grey is known, rebalanced in an instant and the pair galloped home to beat the clock in a sensational and historic victory.
Their timing couldn’t have been better, confirming they are in particularly exciting form ahead of this month’s World Championships (August 16-23) which take place in Aachen, the Dutch mecca of European showjumping.
But just how do riders achieve such sporting symbiosis with their equine partners and what part does does sports science now play at elite level?
“It’s unbelievable the changes that have been made, even in the past 10 years,”
says Sweetnam, elaborating on the advances in ‘footing’ alone, which refers to the quality of arena surfaces.
“It’s a job done by professionals now. The Irish guy (Alan Wade) who does the footing in the RDS, he is hired to do different grass rings around the world because his work is such high quality, and it’s the same with others who do sand arenas.”
Wade was appointed to be the Jumping Course Designer for the Olympic Games in LA2028.
Sweetnam is particularly curious to see how the footing fares in Aachen this month.
“When we compete there usually – as we did in May this year – there’s only 60 riders allowed but, for Worlds, I think there’s going to be around 150 riders competing so it will be interesting to see how that affects things.”
From Castlemagner near Kanturk, he has been based in America for the last 20 years where Sweet Oak Farm in Wellington, Florida produces horses and young riders and is a big family affair. His wife Ali is an equestrian coach and their teenage daughter Olivia is already competing at Under-25 five-star level. Maintaining a thriving business while competing around the world seems a lot more complicated than the sporting choice made by his first cousin Donnacha Ryan of Munster and Ireland rugby fame but Sweetnam seems unflappable.
Each summer he flies his three top horses to Amsterdam and bases them in Eindhoven for the European circuit. They are accompanied by grooms Maria Israelsson and Seamus McKeever, two particularly invaluable team members for the past decade.
Just like their riders, Olympic-class horses have bespoke training, nutrition, hydration and rest programmes. Blood tests are used to monitor their fitness and MRIs to investigate any changes in behaviour or form.
“The three horses I have here are all on different diets because they’re very different types,”
he explains.
“If a horse is high energy they’re on low energy food and vice versa but you’re also balancing all that with good gut health and stamina, and varying it depending on the kind of training and work they’re doing at any given time.”
As we speak he is competing with Gizmo at Dinard in Brittany, on another leg of the elite Rolex GP series, because
“The week of World Championships you’re going to jump a lot of rounds. You can’t just say ‘OK, I have to protect my horse beforehand, I’ll rest him.’ Like any athlete you have to have him ready to compete.”
His top horse is
“always happiest when he is jumping. We want to keep him in the same routine so he turns up to the championships in the best shape possible.
“He’s 13 and we’ve been jumping at the highest level together since he was nine. Every year he matures or changes a little bit, like myself.
“Horses, like people, are always evolving but consistency is the key. We know each other so well now that there’s less mistakes. There’ll always be mistakes,”
he stresses,
“it’s all about making less of them.
“Gizmo likes his treats and, if there’s no treats, he likes his own space. He was bred in Galway so he loves being out on the grass and he really loves the shows. At home, working and doing flat-work, he doesn’t love that so much but, when you get to a show, he’s a different character altogether, he really comes to life.”
His 45-year-old rider is also clearly in the form of his life but gives all the credit to his rides:
“I’ve got a very tight, good group of horses right now and James Kann Cruz has been in great form for the past year.”
The World Equestrian Games only occur every four years and present the first chance for all equestrians to qualify for the next Olympic Games.
The top six showjumping teams will gain automatic spots for LA2028 but Sweetnam says qualifying for his third Games will not be at the forefront of his mind.
“Aachen is the pinnacle of our sport every year so having World Championships there is very special. I wasn’t at the last Worlds but the boys finished fourth and just missed out on a medal by a time fault.
“At any World Championships being in the hunt for a medal is the main thing in my view and then anything after that is a bonus.”
* The Irish showjumping squad for the 2026 World Equestrian Games (August 16-23) is: Bertram Allen & Qonquest De Rigo, Darragh Kenny & Eddy Blue, Cian O’Connor & Chatolinue PS, and Shane Sweetnam with James Kann Cruz. Denis Lynch & Vistogrand are the travelling reserve.