Paul Darragh - what words do you say about a Legend, a man who was so humble in his achievements and always willing to help others?

One of the times I saw Paul Darragh was in the mid 90's at Olympia - he was walking outside the main stadium in full show gear excepting his riding boots, long socks pulled up to the knee and walking with him was Franke Sloothaak dressed the same way - I did laugh because Paul would have to have been one of the shortest men in showjumping and Franke one of the tallest - they created quite a picture which will be in my mind forever because both had broad smiles on their faces and were happy to stop to sign autographs and chat with fans of all ages - two men who enjoyed what they did "at the office"!

Paul Darragh was a member of the triple Aga Khan "Dream Team" who won the Aga Khan Cup in front of the home crowds at Dublin Show in 1977, 1978 and 1979 along with Eddie Macken, Con Power and James Kernan and has 35 years of competition at the top level to his credit including major wins at some of the best shows in the world.

Paul Darragh became well known in Australia when he bought the hot and talented little Aussie mare, Scandal from local showing identities Peter and Caro Wagner - everyone followed their progress through the International world of showjumping. Of course this purchase was made during the time when Paul was the trainer for the Princess of Jordan, Haya who went on to become the first Jordanian to compete at Olympic Equestrian level.

Even though Paul had retired from competitive showjumping himself he was in big demand as a trainer and we saw him at most of the major shows throughout the season and also at the training shows at places like Kill International Equestrian Centre, where Paul began his showjumping training with another of the showjumping legends, Miss Iris Kellett.

At 51 years of age, as we understand it, Paul was feeling a little off colour and declined to go out for dinner - he died of a suspected heart-attack on the evening of the 3rd of January in his home in County Meath, Ireland.

Our thoughts are with his family at this time - the showjumping world mourns a great showjumper, a wonderful trainer and a friend who always had an encouraging word for everyone........................