Irish show jumper Gregory Broderick has confirmed that his Olympic partner, MHS Going Global, has been sold to Athina Onassis.
Lee and Paul Kruger of Caledonia Stables in Alberta opted to sell the 10-year-old Irish Sporthorse (Quidam Junior I x Cavalier Royale) after a stellar 2016 season with Broderick.
In addition to representing Ireland at the Rio Olympic Games, where they were ranked 50th overall, the duo was part of the winning Nations Cup team at CSIO5* Sankt Gallen, where they also took fourth place in the Longines Grand Prix. They also enjoyed a double clear in the Dublin CSIO Nations Cup, where they finished in second. After the Olympics, they finished in sixth place in the CN International at Spruce Meadows.
Broderick and Going Global made headlines before Rio when the rider’s selection, by Irish team manager Robert Splaine, was criticized. The 31-year-old, then ranked 252nd in the FEI Rankings, was chosen over fellow riders Bertram Allen, Dennis Lynch and Cian O’Connor, who were ranked 10th, 32nd and 58th respectively. Splaine said the choice had been difficult, since the main contenders for the place were all strong, but Broderick’s double clear in the Nations Cup at St Gallen with “Junior” [Going Global] had sealed the deal. “To then follow that up with two clear rounds in the Grand Prix, shows they are a combination at the very top of their form,” explained Splaine, who named Allen with Molly Malone V and Cian O’Connor with Good Luck as his reserves.
To complicate matters further, Going Global’s eligibility was also called into question over ownership rules. While the horse’s owners were listed as Lee and Paul Kruger, according to FEI rules, the nationalities of the owner and rider must be one and the same for the Olympics. The matter appeared to be resolved by the end of June when Horse Sport Ireland stated that they were satisfied Going Global was eligible and could compete for Ireland, and Lee Kruger told Horse-Canada.com that Broderick owned 10 per cent of all her horses, a fact which may or may not have been registered with the FEI.
Athina Onassis, 31, rides for Greece. She competed at the 2013 European Championships and the 2014 World Championships. She is recently separated from Brazilian Olympic show jumper Álvaro de Miranda Neto.
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