Horses with Caroline Kennedy
Wicklow Showjumper John Mulvey is a well-known face on the showjumping circuit in Wicklow.
John enjoys a great reputation as a talented jumper and producer of young horses, but this did not happen overnight.
His career began as an eager 12-year-old attending lessons in a little riding school in Kilcroney with his two sisters and quickly progressed with the arrival of their first pony.
This wild little 12.2 was a rescue pony and taught John a valuable lesson, which was, how to stay on! The family moved to Rathnew and John’s love of horses continued to grow.
When he finished school he was in no doubt as to the direction he wanted to take in life and he got a job teaching in the nearby Broomhall Riding School.
His first real introduction to showjumping came when he went to work in Broomlodge in Ashford. There was no going back now.
From there he went to ride for Paddy Murphy in Ballycanew where he was involved in the breaking and training of young horses and laid the foundations for his future career.
With years of hard work behind him John just needed that special horse to make a name for himself. This came in the form of a horse he bought from Harry Williams in Enniskerry.
Now situated in a yard in Glenwood, Rathdrum, John spotted great potential in this young horse, Ballybrew.
His instincts proved correct and they went on to win the National Discovery Class in Milstreet.
Today John is based in his own yard in Ballycullen with partner Ann and daughters Ella and Amy and his career continues to flourish. He plays great tribute to Micheal Lawlor, Kerri Anderson, Lauren Hunt, Liefe Holloway and Amy Byrne who all play an integral part in “keeping the show on the road”.
Looking back over his career to date, some horses hold very speial memories for John. Horses like Winter Rain a young horse with enormous potential, Iago Two, the small horse with the huge heart and Mr Melody, Johns first Grand Prix horse.
Johns recent wins in the Finals of Barnadown Autumn League show that the desire to win and the ability to get the best from his horses is showing no sign of abating.
When asked for some advice for young riders starting out John says “you need to be able to learn more from your defeats than your wins because chances are there are going to be more of them.
“If you can do that the wins are all the sweeter.”
