Kevin Babington
Personal information
NationalityIrish
Born (1968-08-24) 24 August 1968
Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland
Sport
SportEquestrian

Kevin Babington (born 24 August 1968) is an Irish equestrian.[1] He competed in two events at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[2] In 2019, Babington was paralyzed from the neck down following a fall at the Hampton Classic Horse Show.[3][4]

Biography

Babington was born in 1968 in Clonmel, County Tipperary,[1] the youngest of eleven children.[3][5] He attended a riding school in Kill, County Kildare when he was 17, undertaking his riding instructor exams with the British Horse Society.[1] The following year, he moved to the United States to become a professional show jumper.[1][3]

After working as an instructor at a summer camp,[5] he moved to New Jersey, setting up his own business.[1] In 2001, he was part of the Irish team that won gold at the European Championships,[1] before finishing in eighth place at the FEI World Equestrian Games a year later.[1][6] At the 2000 FEI Nations Cup, he was part of Ireland's team that won gold,[4] the first for Ireland at the Nations Cup in more than sixty years.[1]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Babington competed in the individual jumping and team jumping events,[7] with a best finish of joint-fourth in the individual event.[8] Originally, Babington had finished in fifth place, but the horse rode by the original gold medal winner, Cian O'Connor, was disqualified for doping.[9]

In August 2019, Babington was riding at the Hampton Classic Horse Show in Bridgehampton, New York, where he fell from his horse.[1][10] As a result from the fall, he was paralyzed from the neck down.[1][11] Despite his injury, Babington continued to work as a horse trainer.[1] In February 2021, Babington was awarded with a lifetime achievement award by the American magazine Robb Report's Horsepower Gala.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Kevin Babington". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  2. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Kevin Babington Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "About The Kevin Babington Foundation". Kevin Babington Foundation. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Kevin Babington: Learning to live again after life changed forever on Long Island". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Paralyzed top Irish equestrian sees hope in new spinal treatment". Irish Central. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  6. ↑ "Paralysed showjumper Kevin Babington steps up rehab". Horse Talk. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  7. ↑ "Team, Open". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  8. ↑ "Individual, Open". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  9. ↑ "Cian O'Connor". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  10. ↑ "Babington Strong". Practical Horseman. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  11. ↑ Macur, Juliet (January 2021). "A Top Equestrian Paralyzed in an Accident Sees Hope in a Coming Treatment". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  12. ↑ "Lifetime achievement award for Olympic rider with life-changing injuries". Horse and Hound. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
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