Thermal, Calif.—Mar. 1  

Glancing down the results for the $50,000 Horseware Ireland Grand Prix at the HITS Thermal Desert Circuit all the usual West Coast suspects appear—Richard Spooner, Rich Fellers, Will Simpson. But one name stands out as new, that of Greg Broderick.

Broderick is an Irish rider, and showing in the United States for the first season. He showed MHS Going Global to the blue just fractions of a second faster than Spooner on Chivas Z.

When Broderick qualified for the jump-off with MHS Going Global, he knew he’d have his work cut out for him. The notoriously speedy Fellers and Flexible (who won the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix three days before) had dropped a rail, but “The Master of Faster” Spooner was also in contention.

“When I saw Flexible knock a fence down, I knew that it gave me a chance to win the competition,” said Broderick, 29. “I was happy with my round, but obviously having a rider like Richard Spooner coming behind you, you’re thinking that he’s definitely going to be faster than me.”

His 9-year-old mount, MHS Going Global, owned by Lee and Paul Kruger’s Caledonia Stables, proved to be up to the challenge, producing the fastest time with 2/10 of a second separating them from second placed Spooner and Chivas Z.

“The jump-off suited him,” Broderick said. “There were some rollbacks to verticals and the horse is really fantastic—you can turn him tight back at tall verticals. And coming toward home, you really had to open the horse up. He has a huge stride and even when his stride is opened up, it’s very easy to close him because his rideability is so good. I was able to make a lot of time early in the course in the tight rollbacks and I think that’s where I won the class,” he continued.

This Thermal marks Broderick’s first circuit showing in the United States. He often makes the trip to the Krugers’ Caledonia Stables in Edmonton, Alberta to visit and teach some of their students, but this year they offered to let him bring two of their horses to show in California this winter alongside head trainer Lynn Msyck.

“It’s very easygoing I find in California,” he said of his experience. “The people are very nice. It’s a very big ring, which suits my horses because you can get up in a big canter and let him use his scope.”

A newer ride for him, Goodwill VB, a 9-year-old Belgian Warmblood (Orlando—Nalente VB, Lys De Dameb) is the other Caledonia Stables-owned mount and has been making strides with a double clear during his most recent performance, collecting ninth behind MHS Going Global (fifth) in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix.

Broderick also showed Elizabeth Shiah’s MHS Automatic, a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Quidam Junior I—Cape May, Diamond Serpent) to victory in the $5,000 Mortgagecall Jumper Classic last week.

Coming from a horsey family, Broderick began his horse career in foxhunting and hunt chasing before developing a keen interest in show jumping. He won the Young Rider class during his first appearance at the Dublin Horse Show (Ireland) at 17 and went on to represent his country at the 2006 European Young Rider Championships (Greece).

Along with his sister, Cheryl Broderick, he owns and operates Ballypatrick Stables, a breeding and performance horse operation in Thurles, Ireland. The business produces 20 foals a year with a mixture of embryo transfer and mares carrying to term. “We also try and buy between five and 10 of the best bred foals around Ireland as well so we always have some of the best pedigrees coming through in our youngsters,” he said.

Greg spends much of his time producing young horses for their sales business and has seen plenty of success there. He rode Arraghberg Clover to the 5-year-old championship at the FEI World Breeding Jumping Championships for Young Horses (Belgium) in 2013.

Last year he made history at the Dublin Horse Show (Ireland), when he became the first person to ride the 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old Horse Sport Ireland young horse champions. His success on the Irish circuit earned him the Showjumping Ireland National Champion title.

MHS Going Global brings his own set of accolades to the table. “Junior” went to the FEI World Breeding Jumping Championships for Young Horses as a 6- and 7-year-old and was named the 2014 Showjumping Ireland Leading Grand Prix Horse. Since he’s proved to be a solid competitor, Greg plans to compete for the top check in the AIG $1 Million Grand Prix at Thermal on March 15.

“I really enjoy [training young horses] but it is also fantastic to be able ride at the top level,” he said “It’s also a big help for me to get my name out around the world and meet more people and promote the Irish horses.”

Following the conclusion of Thermal, Greg will return to Europe, but he plans to come back to North America to compete at Spruce Meadows (Canada) throughout their summer series.

“Junior jumped in Nations Cup team in Arezzo [Italy] last year,” Greg said. “He was clear in the first round and 4 faults in the second round, which was an unbelievable achievement for an 8-year-old horse at such a high level. We know he’s a superstar and hopefully he has a very bright future in front of him.”