Pictured: Rachael Blackmore receiving the Outstanding Contribution to Brand Ireland Award presented by Seamus Hand, Managing Partner, KPMG, Jane Mangan, and Ian Hyland, Business & Finance. Picture by Andres Poveda.
Champion jockey Rachael Blackmore was honoured with the Outstanding Contribution to Brand Ireland Award at the Business & Finance Awards 2022, in association with KPMG.
Champion jockey Rachael Blackmore was honoured with the Outstanding Contribution to Brand Ireland award at the 2022 Business & Finance Awards, in association with KPMG.
Hosts Pat Kenny and Sarah Freeman welcomed Jane Mangan, RTÉ journalist and racing broadcaster, to the stage to present Ms. Blackmore with the award.
“Many people have tried and failed to articulate why the best are the best,” she said.
“Why are they in the top 1 percentile, and how do they maintain consistency at the highest level of competition over time?” she continued.
She finished by welcoming Ms. Blackmore to the stage, who said: “I never thought so many things in my life could happen, but definitely never thought I would be at the Business & Finance Awards. It’s such an honour to be in a room with such accomplished people … I feel so incredibly grateful I get to do my job every day that I love.”
Rachael Blackmore
In March 2021, Ms. Blackmore rode a winner in the Champion Hurdle on Irish-trained horse, Honeysuckle, at Cheltenham Festival. She also won the Ruby Walsh Trophy for leading jockey, riding 6 winners across four days at Cheltenham.
Less than a month later, Blackmore won the Aintree Grand National. She hurdled 30 fences and beat 40 riders as she rode Minella Times home to victory in front of an estimated TV audience of over 600 million.
Ms. Blackmore has also claimed a number of personal accolades. This includes BBC World Sport Star, RTÉ Sportsperson, Irish Times Sportswoman, Irish Independent Sportsperson, Her Sport Sportswoman and Horse Racing Ireland’s Racing Hero Award.
She returned to Cheltenham in March 2022, where not only did she defend the Champion Chase, she became the first female ever to win one of the most coveted races in National Hunt: The Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Upon announcing Ms. Blackmore as the 2022 recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Brand Ireland, Business & Finance President & Publisher, Ian Hyland said: “Rachael has been an incredible Ambassador for Ireland internationally through her outstanding achievements as a Jockey and Sportsperson, reinforcing Brand Ireland worldwide. We are very much looking forward to honouring Rachael with this very special recognition in the company of over 1000 international business, political and social leaders on December 1st in Dublin.”
Business & Finance Awards
Business & Finance was launched in 1964 as Ireland’s first business periodical. The Business & Finance Awards was thereafter established in 1974. The Awards Programme, now in its 48th year, has recognised some of outstanding leaders of our time across business, politics and wider society.
The 48th annual Business & Finance Awards, in association with KPMG, hosted over 1,000 leading Irish business figures including President Ursula von der Leyen, former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, Ukrainian ambassador Larysa Gerasko and Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
A number of industry leading business figures and companies were recognised for their outstanding contribution to Irish business throughout the night.
Partners for this year’s programme included Ibec, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Coillte, Indeed, Sia Partners, Expleo, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, I-RES, Smurfit Kappa, Arachas, Salesforce, Sky Ireland, CPL and Aviva along with Business for Good Partner, UNICEF.
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