Emma Meagher: Romeo, the Raffle and the RDS

A four-day week in radiation therapy, a Connemara cross Appaloosa called Romeo and a very full diary: Emma Meagher joins Sarah on the Equitas Podcast.

Emma is an Equitas member from County Tipperary who got in touch after our call-out to members, and her email had more chapters than most. She left veterinary studies in Budapest after four or five years, nearly, making sure she passed her exams first, then trained in radiation therapy in England. These days she works four days a week in Cork, fits animal physio and weekend coaching around it, and has a horse that has to be ridden at least twice a week during the working week. She also talks about losing her partner and what her horses meant to her afterwards.

Romeo came into her life by a route that began with a ski trip won in a raffle and a chance conversation in her local village. He was four years old when she bought him, and he has since taken her through hunter classes, show jumping, a bit of eventing and, this year, all the way to the RDS.

Then there is the RDS. Emma qualified this year, jumped a great first round with her family watching on Horse and Country, and is candid about how the day felt in the saddle compared with how it looked on screen. The weeks that followed brought a second place at the national hunter trials championships and a grassroots qualifier win the week before we recorded. She also talks about how tough it is to ride as part of a team, where encouraging everyone else comes easily and being kind to yourself does not. Next on her list are a return to the RDS, and a place in the ribbons, and a foal on the way with her mare. We will keep track of her progress.