Second Lieutenant Erin Crawford from Castlefinn has been assigned to the Army Equitation School.

Second Lieutenant Crawford (20) was commissioned as a new officer at the commissioning ceremony of the 99th cadet class at the Defence Forces Training Centre in The Curragh, Kildare today.

The ceremony was attended by the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin and the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lt Gen Seán Clancy.

Second Lieutenant Erin Crawford

Erin’s equestrian career began at five years of age when she learned to ride ponies. It wasn’t long before Erin realised that show jumping was her passion and that she wanted to make a career of it. Horses have been an integral part of her upbringing, having competed nationwide and internationally at show jumping events.

Crawford had set her sights on applying for an equestrian cadetship in the Defence Forces long before completing the Leaving Certificate.

One of Erin’s most memorable shows was competing at the spectacular Longines Al Shaqab equestrian complex at the 2020 InterNations event in Doha, Qatar.

She was also part of the junior squad competing in The Netherlands and has very fond memories of jumping ponies at the RDS on a number of occasions.

Erin Crawford with Irish team manager Gary Marshall at the 2020 InterNations event in Al Shaqab, Doha, Qatar

She took the first step in her military journey in November 2022 and was one of 10 female and 32 male officers to receive their scrolls and Commissioning certificates on Wednesday.

The Army Equitation School is based at McKee Barracks in Dublin and was founded in 1926 to promote Ireland and the Irish horse.