An Cosantóir July/August 2017 www.dfmagazine.ie
40 |
by CPL LEE COyLE PHotoS
by ARMN ADAM MURPHy
O
n Saturday 27th May the
Army Equitation School in
McKee bks, Dublin officially
opened their newly refurbished out-
door jumping arena. It was also a mo-
mentous occasion as the arena was
officially named the 'W.t. Cosgrave
Arena' after former tD, William
thomas Cosgrave, who was a driving
force behind the establishment of
the Equitation School.
An taoiseach, Enda Kenny tD, Min-
ister with Responsibility for Defence,
Paul Kehoe tD, former taoiseach
Mr. Liam Cosgrave, accompanied by
the Defence Forces Chief of Staff Vice
Admiral Mark Mellett DSM, presided
over the naming ceremony.
W.T. Cosgrave, who served as the
first President of the Executive Council
of the Irish Free State from 1922 to
1932, was instrumental in the es-
tablishment of the Army Equitation
School whose purpose is 'to promote
the Irish Horse'.
It all began when in 1925 Colonel
Zeigler of the Swiss Army first sug-
gested holding an international jump-
ing event at the Dublin Horse Show.
The Aga Khan of the time heard of
this proposal and offered a challenge
trophy to the winner of the competi-
tion and in 1926 International Jumping
Competitions was introduced to the
show and it was the first time the Na-
tions' Cup for the Aga Khan Challenge
trophy was held.
This provided the need for an Equita-
tion School within the Free State Army,
as it would promote the Irish horse and
in the long run would rebound to the
benefit of breeders around the country.
