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Sarah ENNIS

Sarah ENNIS, Irish Eventing athlete.
Name Sarah ENNIS
FEI ID 10005414
Gender Female
Date of Birth 13/03/1975
Competing for Ireland - IRL
Registrations Eventing 2025
Jumping 2024
Last update 29/07/2024
FEI Database




Eventing 70x70 Jumping 70x70
Sport Specific Information
When and where did you begin this sport? She first tried riding on her sister's Shetland pony. She began competing in dressage at age 15, and moved on to eventing at age 18. "I liked the dressage and the showing, but it was getting a little boring, so I decided to piece it all together and take up eventing. We never had any money though, so my first 'event horses' were two ex-racehorses that we bought off the side of a mountain."
Why this sport? Her mother liked to ride horses. "We grew up on an estate, and dad built a stable in the garden for mum's first horse. We then borrowed a pony for the summer which is where it began, and that pony was handed down the line to all of us. From the small yard at home I would spend every minute of the day with them, riding them, washing them, brushing them and mucking them out. I was no good at sports, but I was always competitive when it came to horses."
Club / Team Stellor Sport Horses: Dunboyne, IRL
Name of coach She trains with Ian Woodhead, Ethen Ahern and Chris Bartle. (badminton-horse.co.uk)
Further Personal Information
Family Husband Niki Potterton, son James [2010]
Residence Dunboyne, IRL
Occupation Athlete, Business Owner, Coach, Horse Trainer
Languages English
General Interest
Memorable sporting achievement Winning silver in the team event at the 2018 World Equestrian Games [WEG] in Tryon, NC, United States of America. (irishtimes.com, 04 Oct 2018)
Most influential person in career Her husband Niki Potterton, and coach Ian Fearon. (alltech.com, 01 Jan 2012)
Hero / Idol British equestrian Chris Bartle. (nobuckingway.com, 28 Jan 2019)
Injuries She has broken her coccyx and collarbone during her career. (irishtimes.com, 04 Oct 2018)
Sporting philosophy / motto "I would advise on going out and getting as much advice you can. Put some time in to investing in lessons from an eventer, someone who has been there, done that, the experience speaks volumes. Us eventers love to help." (nobuckingway.com, 28 Jan 2019)
Awards and honours She was named Senior Event Rider of the Year at the Irish Horse World Awards in both 2012 and 2018. (theirishfield.ie, 16 Feb 2018; alltech.com, 01 May 2013)
Famous relatives Her sister Nicola Ennis has represented Ireland in eventing at World Cup events, and she won silver in the team competition at the 2016 Nations Cup event in Ballindenisk, Ireland. Sarah's brother-in-law Conor Fogerty was named Irish Sailor of the Year in 2017. (SportsDeskOnline, 08 Dec 2020; eventingireland.com, 24 Sep 2015; afloat.ie, 09 Feb 2018; theirishfield.ie, 16 Feb 2018) Her sister Niamh Tottenham is also an eventing athlete.
Other information STABLES Together with her husband Nicolas Potterton, she runs Stellor Sport Horses in Dunboyne, Ireland. The pair train horses and coach riders for eventing at the facility. (Facebook page, 11 Oct 2021; theirishfield.ie, 27 Mar 2020; irishtimes.com, 04 Oct 2018) HUSBAND She credits her husband Niki Potterton for motivating her to pursue eventing at an elite level. "Up until I met Niki I'd never done the big time, although I dreamt about it. Niki encouraged me to go for the big time, and since I've met him, I've done Badminton, Burghley, been on European teams and won a silver WEG [World Equestrian Games] medal. Nothing is ever a problem to Niki, if I ever have an issue at a particular fence he will build it at home, and then we practise and practise it till it works. It sounds corny but he completes me, he was the missing link. He went by the motto 'win it or bin it' and I think meeting him was the making of me. I thought I was competitive but he's even more so. He could see the significant bits in my competitive life that were lacking and he solved them." (Insights, 01 Aug 2021) EARLY DAYS She became a qualified lab technician on the advice of her parents, and worked in a lab for several years before deciding to focus her attention on producing and competing horses. "It was only on the understanding they paid for the horses while I was away." (Insights, 01 Aug 2021; irishtimes.com, 17 Jul 2021) SCUBA DIVER She is qualified in scuba diving at dive master level. (sarahenniseventing.wixsite.com, 01 Jan 2020; trm-ireland.com, 07 Sep 2014)