Lennon lauds massive progress by HK jumpers in past year
With their horses kicking back and enjoying the peace of Malaysia's Cameron Highlands after the excitement of the KL World Cup final in Kuala Lumpur last weekend, the triumphant Hong Kong squad are hoping to raise the bar again.
Ireland's first ever show jumping world champion, Dermott Lennon, has been working with the riders and, this time last year, would have bet against Hong Kong having its first ever Grand Prix rider (Charlotte Morse) and victories in the Asian Classic (Kenneth Cheng Man-kit) and the Young Riders Series (Magali Tong) in Kuala Lumpur.
'I first came out to Hong Kong about 18 months ago and the group has improved enormously in that time. The first time I came I seriously questioned some of their ability, but they have shown massive progress in the past year. They are learning horsemanship; to ride and feel improvement in their horses as they go along. The management of the horses is top class and that is 65 per cent of success in showjumping.'
Lennon (pictured) speaks from experience. Although he was brought up in Ireland around horses and rode from a young age, he didn't start competing in shows until the age of 16 and was 30 before taking part in his first international competition in Spain.
As Hong Kong's riders are now experiencing, the transition is a big one. 'You have to understand there is a big step from local to international shows,' Lennon says. 'The atmosphere and the technicality of the course are on another level.' Following the World Cup final, young Hong Kong rider Gaelle Tong echoed this sentiment, saying: 'When you ride into that big arena it's terrifying and you don't want to mess up in front of everyone.'
Once on the international stage, Lennon built a solid reputation both as an individual competitor and a team player. As a member of the Irish team he has been part of record breaking 10 Nations' Cup wins. He was also part of the first ever Irish team to win the European Championships on Liscalgot, the mare on which he would go on to with the individual gold medal at the 2002 World Championships in Jerez, Spain.