The Kildare Olympic pairing and Ireland’s greatest-ever dressage team

After travelling the world together and setting new Irish dressage records Judy Reynolds made the tough decision to retire her ‘best friend’, Vancouver K, at the age of 19. Even Judy’s husband admits that the horse affectionately known as JP ranks above him.

“I’ve had him for 13 years and everything he has learned I’ve taught him. He’s just always been with me, bar the rare time we go on holidays I have seen him every day for over a decade,” Judy described.

Judy called time on the jazz-sired gelding’s legendary career last June. The decision came just two years after they qualified Team Ireland’s dressage team for the Tokyo games. Unfortunately, the decision to retire her top mount means that neither Judy nor JP were at the Olympics in Tokyo.

“It was so difficult, a complete emotional rollercoaster for a couple of weeks. We qualified the team in 2019 after an amazing result at the European Championships. We were aware at that time that he was going to be 18 years old at the Olympics if they had gone ahead as planned,” Judy explained.

During that qualification, Reynolds set a new Irish Grand Prix record of 78.252% smashing her own tally from earlier that year in the process. However, the delay of the Olympic Games due to the Covid pandemic slowed the incredible momentum that the pair had.

Excitement

“We had to bring his work rate right down because of his age. But at the beginning of 2021, he was squealing with excitement to be back working and we entered a preparation competition. In the weeks leading up, we tried to bring him up to competition level and it was at that point then I felt his body was not responding the way both of us wanted,” said Judy.

“I knew he was giving me everything he could, but he just was not quite able to do it anymore. I didn’t want to show him at a level below what I felt did him justice for how great he was. I decided to leave people with the fantastic memories they have of him rather than come out and feel as if he shouldn’t be there.”

Judy and JP can now reflect on a record-breaking journey together. The duo appeared at three world cups, two world championships and did have an Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro to look back on.

“I have never had to fight for anything as hard as to qualify for the 2016 games. I had to ride a new Irish record four times just to secure the place. One week you were on top of the rankings and the next week you might have dropped out of qualification,” Judy described.

“I led the rankings for most of that year but going into the final weekend I was outside of a qualifying position. Due to time differences, I competed first and that weekend I rode two personal bests and two Irish records to secure that position in Rio. It’s such hard work to get there but it’s such an amazing feeling of achievement when you do it because you know you deserved it.”

After all the work to get to Rio, Judy was ready to soak in the experience of competing with the best in her discipline. But her preparation was far from without a few hitches.

Stitch and sew

“The Olympics are funny with the branding you are allowed on your clothes. I remember sitting there during the day unstitching labels off my clothes. Even my tailcoat had six gold buttons on it, and we had to put tiny gold stickers over the crests. It was crazy having to do that and we could have made a fuss about why we weren’t warned but you are there at the Olympics to compete, there was no point in being dramatic,” Judy said.

“The Olympic village is amazing just being around other athletes, watching people and wondering what sport they did. You try and treat it like any competition but it’s simply unlike any other. You feel that as soon as you get to the airport to travel there wearing your big green Ireland tracksuit.”

Despite reaching the pinnacle of competition in Rio, not everyone always believed that JP would be the top championship mount that Judy felt he would be. JP’s overactive nature and difficult work ethic at a young age meant many people close to Judy felt he wouldn’t make it at the top level.

“Countless people along the way told me to get rid of him and that he was always going to be too much work for no return. But I always felt that there was something in there and that it was worth keeping going. He won his first Grand Prix in a national competition. My trainer, Johann Hinnemann, who always had his doubts about JP came to me and said that he took it all back. He told me that I had made him into what was going to be a special horse,” Judy recalled.

The team’s desire for greatness meant that they were always looking forward.

But after calling it a day and seeing the outpouring of love online, Judy felt it was time to reflect on her time with what Horse Sport Ireland called “the greatest horse ever to represent Ireland on the international Dressage stage”.

“At the time I never truly appreciated those big wins as much as I should have. Now looking back, I feel that we did some incredible things together. The win in New York and the qualifiers were amazing. When you are in it you are looking for performances through the lens of how I can improve, I always wanted to be better,” Judy explained.

“The FEI put up a tribute to him alongside a video of one of our last performances in Rotterdam where we qualified the team for the Olympics. I can honestly say for one of the first times in my career I could genuinely appreciate what we did. I was blown away watching it thinking how much this little horse did for me and what we achieved together.”

More to come

While JP has run his race, Judy’s competitive spirit still burns bright and the journey that started at five years old in Calliaghstown Equestrian Centre is not over yet.

“When I think about the places I have been because of that horse and the adventures we’ve had, it’s incredible. I fully plan on doing it with the next one too, I’m not done.”