Photo (l-r) Silver medal winner Michael Murphy (IRL), gold medal winner Sara Morganti (ITA) and bronze medal winner Martina Benzinger (GER) share the podium after the Grade I Freestyle at the FEI Para Dressage European Championships in Riesenbeck, Germany.
A fantastic performance this morning (Saturday) from Ireland’s Michael Murphy and the 16-year-old gelding Cleverboy, has seen them land the silver medal at the 2023 FEI Para Dressage European Championships in Riesenbeck, Germany.
Murphy and Cleverboy narrowly missed out on a medal in Tuesday’s Grand Prix at the Championships when finishing just half a percentage point off the bronze medal position. However a superb score of 79.887% this morning saw Murphy take the silver medal as runner-up in the Grade I Freestyle. The gold medal went to Italy’s Sara Morganti and Mariebelle on a score of 81.640 %, while Germany’s Martina Benzinger and Nautika took bronze with a score of 78.347 %.
Irish Horse Board Director General Alison Corbally said:
“Having first competed for Ireland in 2018, Michael has developed such a special relationship with Cleverboy. This fantastic success is so well deserved for his hard work and dedication. Michael and Cleverboy were very unlucky not to win a medal earlier in the week and they showed huge determination and focus to come back and take the silver medal in the Freestyle with a really excellent score. Many congratulations from the Irish Horse Board.”
Photo: Ireland’s Michael Murphy and Cleverboy