32 SIDELINES MARCH 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
better every year, so I’m really happy to be part of it all.
Sidelines:
You play polo; do you compete in other disciplines?
TM:
I play polo and ride jumpers. I will be playing polo in
Wellington and I currently train with Mauritizio Deveret. I have
16 polo ponies but they are all in Ireland. At home I ride two
to three times a week, practicing my swing and playing stick
and ball. We also have some jumpers at our farm and I show
in the Amateur Jumper league when I can. In March, I’ll be
back in Wellington and I plan to lease a horse to do some of the
Amateur Jumper classes, maybe the Masters Division.
Sidelines:
What are your riding goals?
TM:
I’d like to win the Amateur Championship at the Royal
Dublin Horse Show. (Horseware sponsors it!) I’d also like to
become a 1-goaler on the polo feld.
Sidelines:
What else will Horseware be doing at the Winter
Equestrian Festival?
TM:
This year at WEF we’re sponsoring some Adult Amateur
Divisions and the Masters Jumper Division and then we have
a Grand Prix on the Derby feld in late January. It’s been great
fun to pull our sponsorship together this year – from creating
jumps that we’ll see in the rings, to designing the awards
blankets and working with Equestrian Sports on all kinds of
new opportunities there – it’s all very exciting. In addition to
our Horseware sponsorship, my online blanket company Triple
Crown Build Your Own Blanket has a presence at WEF as
well. We’re also underwriting the 2nd Annual JustWorld Strut!
Fashion for Just World Fashion Show, on the evening of March
3. It was a huge success last year and it’s where we introduced
our Pessoa by Horseware clothing collection – it was all great
fun and the proceeds went to build a new school in Cambodia.
Horseware has been a JustWorld partner since 2007 and
we’re very committed to the work that they do, particularly in
Cambodia where I have seen frsthand the positive impact they
have on the lives of children.
Sidelines:
Are you a life-long horse person?
TM:
I rode ponies as a child and worked at our family riding
school, I’m a Certifed Level II Instructor. When I was 18, I
took about a 10 year break from riding to do missionary work in
South America. When I came back to Ireland, I took over the
riding school and later started Horseware. In the meantime, I’ve
enjoyed lots of different riding disciplines – I was an MFH for
six years, did Three-Day Eventing up to ** and lots of amateur
show jumping. Three years ago I began playing polo and it’s a
real passion for me now.
Tom playing polo in Argentina
Photo by Alice Gipps