Irish Show Jumper Rachel Proudley Donates €5,000 to Temple Street After Historic Win
She was just 20 years old when she did something no woman had managed in six decades. Now Rachel Proudley has turned that extraordinary moment into something even more meaningful — a €5,000 donation to Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street.
At last year’s Gallagher Dublin Horse Show, Rachel made history by clearing a 2.15 metre wall to win the prestigious Defender Puissance title, becoming the first woman in 60 years to claim the prize. It was the kind of achievement that stops a crowd cold — the sort of thing you’d want your daughter to see and think, that could be me.
From the arena to Temple Street
Rather than quietly pocket her prize money, Rachel donated €2,500 of it to CHI Temple Street. The RDS then matched her contribution in full, bringing the total to €5,000. Rachel, who rides for HK Horses — one of the UK’s leading international show jumping yards — and is trained and managed by international show jumper Richard Howley, joined Gallagher Dublin Horse Show Director Fiona Sheridan to formally present the cheque at the hospital.
Anyone who has ever spent time at Temple Street — whether as a worried parent in a waiting room at two in the morning, or dropping something in for a child on a ward — knows what it means to see support like this land. CHI Temple Street cares for some of the most vulnerable children in the country, and every contribution makes a real difference to the families going through the hardest times of their lives.
The photos from the cheque presentation say it all, really. There’s River Radley, a young lad from Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, giving two enthusiastic thumbs up in his rosette, surrounded by adults doing the same. It’s one of those images that cuts straight through.
A role model doing it properly
It’d be easy to win something historic and simply enjoy it — and no one would blame you for that. Rachel was 20. She’d just done something nobody in her sport had seen from a woman in 60 years. But she chose to use the moment, and the prize that came with it, to give back.
That’s the kind of story worth telling your kids. Not in a preachy way — just as a quiet example of what it looks like when talent and generosity turn up in the same person.
The Dublin Horse Show is coming up
If the whole family wants to see showjumping like this up close, the Gallagher Dublin Horse Show will be back at the RDS later this year. Tickets are available at dublinhorseshow.com and there’s currently 10% off if you book in advance. Children under four go free, which is always welcome news when you’re trying to wrangle a day out without it costing a small fortune.
It’s the sort of family event that’s worth putting in the diary now before the summer gets away from you entirely.