All eyes will on Donegal horse as Olympic showjumping gets underway

There has never been so much interest in Olympic showjumping in Donegal, with top Irish jumper Bertram Allen taking to the arena on a horse owned and bred in the county. 

Pacino Amiro was bred by one of Donegal’s top showjumpers, Simon Scott in Convoy, from sire Pacino and out of Scott’s mare Carnone Dancing Queen (by NC Amiro). 

The horse was sold to Aiden McGrory, Ballintra who sent him to Kenneth Graham’s stable Lenamore in Muff who produced him. Pacino Amiro  featured in a number of local events while being produced from Kenneth Graham's Lenamore Stable in Muff. Among the shows in which he competed as a young horse was the annual showjumping event in Donegal Town.

Pacino Amiro was brought to Bertram Allen to ride after the Wexford-born showjumper expressed an interest in him. And when the team was picked for Tokyo, Allen was delighted to take the Donegal horse to the Olympics.

In an interview with UK publication Horse and Hound earlier this year, Allen said: “With some horses, you’re nervous of what the course-builder is going to produce but you know nothing is going to faze him – he’s a serious horse.”

Olympic show jumping gets underway in Tokyo on Tuesday at 11am.