Double silver for Mullingar teen at international event

A Mullingar teenager who travelled to France to participate in the 2026 FEI European Pony Championships held at Le Mans, has come home with two silver medals from the event.

Ted Fagan, younger son of Robert and Sarah-Jane Fagan of Mullingar Equestrian Centre, was part of the Irish team who came in just one point behind Britain to finish second in the event at the showjumping.

However, in his own right, Ted also took the overall individual silver medal – the only Irish rider to win an individual medal.

To win his individual silver, Ted jumped four clear rounds over the course of the week – but knocking one fence in the second round of the final, on the August bank holiday Sunday, saw him finish just behind British team member Sophia Rodgers, and ahead of her teammate, Lucia Nicole Caroline, who won the bronze.

Ted is a Junior Cert student at Coláiste Mhuire and it was inevitable that horses would feature large in his life, given the importance of the Fagan family’s Mullingar Equestrian Centre to the world of equestrian sports. Before the competition, the inevitable question arose of, ‘who’s taking the horse to France?’, and that task fell to Ted’s father, Robert, who drove Ballyfore Rosie the long distance over.

Participating alongside Ted on the Irish showjumping team were Jack Dore from Limerick (K Litle Hero), Charlie Flynn from Tipperary (Montana), Robbie Sheehan from Kilkenny (Pjotr Van De Groenheuvel) and Sam Widger from Waterford (BP Bon Jovi). The team were managed by Denis Flannelly, a renowned level 3 jumping coach.