The Irish team of Jane Fitzgerald, John Carr and Ciara Dennigan pictured with individual rider and NR Clare Holland. Credit: Freddie Pritchard.
Trinity student rider and Trinity Equestrian Club member Jane Fitzgerald was part of a highly successful outing for Team Ireland at the AIEC 2026 World Finals held in Leuven, Belgium in late December and early January where the team won the President's Cup alongside all Irish riders earning top-six spots and the team coming third overall.
Competing in the Gold League Final, the Irish team of John Carr, Ciara Dennigan and Jane Fitzgerald delivered consistently strong performances across disciplines. The team finished second overall in show jumping, fourth in dressage, and third in the combined standings, securing a podium finish against strong international competition.
Student riding presents a distinctive challenge, with competitors required to perform on unfamiliar horses following only a brief warm-up. Despite this, all three Irish riders placed within the top six individually in the show jumping phase. Jane recorded an impressive sixth-place finish and achieved the joint highest mark in the first round of show jumping, contributing to Ireland’s second-place team result in the discipline.
Across the combined competition, Team Ireland finished third overall while Jane again delivered a solid contribution as part of a tightly matched team effort. In recognition of their performances throughout the season, Team Ireland was also awarded the President’s Cup for the highest overall team points accumulated across the Nations Cup series as well as the Show Jumping Cup for the strongest aggregate results in that discipline since the previous World Finals.
Reflecting on the achievement, Jane said: “I am delighted for our team having received the President’s Cup and the Show Jumping Cup following brilliant success in Ireland combined with our performance at the World Finals. Our team in Belgium finished second in the show jumping and third in the combined competition. Individually, I placed sixth in the show jumping and achieved the joint highest mark in the first round. It was an amazing experience, and I am honoured to have been selected for the team, having only competed in the Irish SRNC in August, which was also named SRNC of the Year.”
The Irish Universities Riding Clubs’ Association (IURCA) also received further recognition in Belgium with the Irish Student Riding National Championships (SRNC) hosted at the Boswell Equestrian Centre in August 2025 named SRNC of the Year for the quality of competition, horses and overall organisation.