On Saturday evening Darragh Kenny and the 11-year-old bay gelding Eddy Blue claimed victory in the 1.50m $78,000 Hampton Classic Speed Cup, jumping clear in 69.27 seconds. USA’s McLain Ward took second place in a time of 69.68 seconds, while Ireland’s Conor Swail was third with Vital Chance de la Roque.

The combination had taken the runner-up spot in the 1.45m Speed Stakes on Thursday. They jumped a foot-perfect clear round to stop the clock in 31.95 seconds, just behind Rene Dittmer in 31.18 seconds.

In Sunday’s 1.60m CSI5* Grand Prix Kenny was seventh with Chic Chic, while in the 1.45m CSI2* Grand Prix four Irish riders finished inside the top six. Conor Swail took the runner-up spot behind Nayel Nasser for Egypt. Riding the 16-year-old gelding Count Me In, Swail  and Count Me In were double clear to finish less than a second behind Nasser.

Irish rider Philip McGuane completed the podium, riding the nine-year-old mare Orphea HQ; Jonathan Corrigan was fifth with the nine-year-old mare Oaky Flandria, while Conor O’Regan and Mendini DR came home in sixth place.

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Meath-based O’Connor beat a 57-strong field to claim victory in the three-star 1m55 Grand Prix at Knokke in Belgium.

Riding the 9-year-old stallion Taj Mahal, O’Connor was among eight riders who made it into the second round jump-off. Only two combinations went double clear, with the Irishman finishing over two seconds faster than Germany’s Kendra Claricia Brinkop who took runner-up spot with Nector Vd Bisschop.

“I was not expecting a win today,” O’Connor said afterwards. “Taj Mahal is still only 9-years-old. It is his first three-star Grand Prix and it’s under lights. I am so happy his previous rider Dieter Vermeiren got to see him win here. He made the horse and I was able to take him to the next level – great teamwork.”

Darragh Kenny second in Monaco

Offaly’s Darragh Kenny claimed the runner-up spot in the five-star Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Monaco, a venue he won at in 2021.

Riding the 13-year-old stallion Volnay du Boisdeville, Kenny was one of just two riders to jump clear in the first round. He was just pipped for victory by Austria’s Max Kühner who finished less than half-a-second faster than the Irishman in the jump-off with EIC Coriolis des Isles. The podium was shared by the same three riders from 12 months ago with Belgium’s Olivier Philippaerts taking third place with H&M Miro

“Second seems to be my position and it’s not exactly where I would like to be” said Kenny. “I have to say Volnay jumped unbelievable today. He has been a great horse for me since I took him over from Teddy Vlock. I was a little slow in the jump-off and that is where I lost it. I definitely knew I left the door open, I did one more stride to the vertical then I would have liked and then I was a little slow to the last and I knew I was behind today and Max made it happen. I knew when I came out the ring he could beat me and that’s not an enjoyable feeling but we will just keep fighting and trying to get that golden ticket.”

Kenny 4th in overall LGCT standings

Although there are no changes in the top two positions of the overall GCT season ranking with Christian Ahlmann (GER) still leading on 210 points and Ben Maher (GBR) in second with a tally of 182 points there has been a big shuffle down the order. Pieter Devos (BEL) jumps up to third on 158 points and Darragh Kenny (IRL) claims fourth place for now with 153 points.

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The Polish leg of the competition will be Ireland’s first points-scoring round of 2022 in Europe Division 1.

Ireland will arrive in Sopot in superb form, having won four Nations Cup competitions so far this season.

Michael Blake’s side will face tough competition in Sopot, where Europe’s top teams will be competing for points on the road to qualification for the Longines FEI Nations Cup World Final in Barcelona at the end of September.

France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland and Sweden will compete for points on Sunday. Poland and Denmark will also field teams but are not eligible for points as they not in Europe Division 1.

Blake has selected a strong squad that includes World No.19 Darragh Kenny and recent five-star Grand Prix of Rome winners, Denis Lynch with Brooklyn Heights.

The Irish squad for Sopot is as follows:

Trevor Breen with Highland President.
Denis Lynch and Brooklyn Heights.
Darragh Kenny with Volnay Du Boisdeville.
Mark McAuley and Django Ste Hermelle.
Jack Ryan with BBS McGregor (ISH).

Sunday’s Longines FEI Nations Cup of Poland in Sopot gets underway at 11am Irish time with the entire second round broadcast live on the RTÉ News Channel starting from 1pm Irish time and finishing at 3pm.

You can find the RTÉ News Channel on Sky 521, Saorview 21, Virgin 200, Eir 500 & on the RTÉ Player.

Ireland’s upcoming Longines FEI Nations Cup competitions in Rotterdam, Hickstead and Dublin will also be shown live on RTÉ.

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The Tipperary rider has enjoyed an excellent run of results in recent months with his top string of horses which includes Cristello, GC Chopin’s Bushi and Rubens LS La Silla. He has climbed seven places on the rankings this month alone.

Offaly’s Darragh Kenny continues his long run inside the top 10 and is now at No.10.

Ireland has no less than 12 riders inside the top 100.

Wexford’s Bertram Allen (No. 21) and Cork’s Shane Sweetnam (No.25) are in the top thirty.

Kildare’s Mikey Pender has made a big jump of 20 places and is now at No.55.

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The line between success and failure in elite sport is thin and today Ireland had no luck.

After impressive displays in the jumping individual round, Team Ireland were confident of scoring high to reach the final tomorrow.

Team Ireland would be made up of Darragh Kenny, Bertram Allen and replacement Shane Sweetnam for the qualifiers.

The team would be without their highest scorer so far, Cian O’Connor on Kilkenny after the horse sustained a nose bleed in the individual event.

To read more about the thrilling individual event, see Olympic Equestrian Final: O’Connor misses final jump-off by 1 point.

Of the 19 teams in the qualifiers, only the top 10 would progress to the final tomorrow morning.

Best wishes to @TeamIreland @HorseSportIRL trio @dkenny08, @BertramAllen123 and Shane Sweetnam in tomorrow’s team qualifier where 20 teams line out and the best 10 go through to Saturday’s medal decider. We’re all right behind you.

pic.twitter.com/o4MwweKhn3

— Cian O'Connor (@Cian_O_Connor) August 5, 2021

Equestrian – Jumping Team Qualifier

Shane Sweetnam riding Alejandro was to be Ireland’s first rider in ninth position. He made a strong start showing good speed with his horse clearing the fences well.

The horse knocked a fence during a triple jump on five but tried to recover. At the sixth fence, everything began to go wrong.

Sweetnam and his horse knocked the sixth fence badly and in doing so, a shoe came off the horse. It is possible for a horse to complete the course without a shoe but Alejandro seemed uncomfortable and was now lacking confidence.

On the next fence, the horse jumped too high and landed back down on top of the poles. This caused his legs to buckle and he fell to his knees, knocking his rider off.

Luckily due to the safety measures in place, neither Sweetnam or Alejandro were injured by the fall but their routine was over.

The 40-year-old Sweetnam was clearly disappointed by what had happen. He knew that it left Ireland’s chances of qualification to the next round in tatters.

The new rules have it that any rider that is eliminated in a routine is awarded four more points than the worst score finishing score of the event.

Kenny and Allen would have needed perfect runs to have a chance of making the finals. After already competing twice in the individual event, the riders decided, in the interest of wellbeing for them and their horses, to retire from the competition.

#Equestrian

The Irish Show Jumping have withdrawn from the Team Qualifiers.

Our commiserations to all involved.#Tokyo2020 #IRL @HorseSportIRL pic.twitter.com/HKt3dAeU1H

— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) August 6, 2021

This puts a damp mood on what has been a very decent Olympics for Ireland’s equestrian team.

Fans and athlete’s alike will now look to the marathons, the men’s modern pentathlon, Stephanie Meadow’s in golf and Kellie Harrington in boxing for our last chances at silverware in Tokyo.

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This is the first time that three Irish riders have made an individual final; Darragh Kenny riding Cartello, Bertram Allen on Pacino Amiro and Olympic bronze medallist Cian O’Connor on Kilkenny.

Kenny and Allen finished in the top seven fastest times in the qualifiers but all three riders have shown their capabilities of finishing on the podium.

To read more about the excellent qualifying performances by the Irish, click here.

The horses will have to do 14 sets of jumps including some triple fences and a 4m jump over water. They will have 88 seconds to finish the course with a four point penalty for any knocked fences and 1 points for every second over.

#Equestrian

The Show Jumping Individual Final gets underway & we’ve three Irish riders in the line up! Start order below

6. Cian O’Connor & Kilkenny (ISH)
25. Bertram Allen & Pacino Amiro (ISH)
29. Darragh Kenny & VDL Cartello

Best of luck! #TeamIreland #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/aPD0fTGEaN

— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) August 4, 2021

Equestrian – Jumping Individual Final

Cian O’Connor was the sixth rider up and Ireland’s first. Riding Kilkenny, he came in after watching many penalties and two retired horse before him.

He started brilliantly, clearing every fence up until the water with ease. This continued with his experience and class shown throughout the course guiding Kilkenny home in 88.45 seconds.

He received no faults but will be disappointed to get one single time penalty. With this high, challenging track it was first after seven horses.

O’Connor and Kilkenny were finally knocked out of the podium positions by the 15th rider. He eventually finished the event in an impressive joint seventh place.

WOW WOW WOW @Cian_O_Connor CLEAR ROUND in individual final. Just one time fault. Superb horsemanship & wonderful Irish bred horse, Kilkenny. Now we wait! pic.twitter.com/IWYM5fVrNL

— Lucinda Creighton (@LCreighton) August 4, 2021

A while later and Allen was up 25th riding Pacino Amiro. He made a quick start showing good space over each obstacle until 6A where a wobble lead to the horse knocking a fence.

He evened himself out again but knew that the medal was now out of his grasp, he knocked over one more fence at 12 before finishing.

Allen and Pacino Amiro finished the event in 15th in a time of 84.64.

#Equestrian

Bertram Allen & Pacino Amiro (ISH) finish with two poles on the floor in a time of 84.64#TeamIreland #Tokyo2020 #IRL #EquestrianJumping @HorseSportIRL pic.twitter.com/UEuLbz29dI

— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) August 4, 2021

The penultimate rider of the event was Ireland’s Kenny on Cartello. The world number nine started very well, casually jumping the early fences. All was going great until a double fence caught the horse off guard and a plank was knocked.

The Irishman continued on and knocked one more fence on his way to finishing the course in 85.11 seconds. This gave him a final position of 17th in the event.

8pen for Darragh Kenny & Cartello…

Just @BenMaher1 to go….#Tokyo2020 #EquestrianJumping pic.twitter.com/6gKRlDtNdf

— The FEI (@FEI_Global) August 4, 2021

The final had to be decided with a six-way jump-off. Team GB’s Ben Maher on Explosion W got gold, while Peder Fredricson on All In came second and Maikel van der Vleuten on Beauville Z bronze.

Cormac Kenny from Kilkenny was the groom for the Dutch rider that came in third for another Irish contingent at the Games.

These three Irishmen and their horses are not finished with their chances of an Olympic medal and will take part in the team event on Friday morning.

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The Tipperary man clinched victory by half a second from Offaly’s Darragh Kenny and Vinci de Beaufour.

Third place in the jump-off went to German rider Katrin Eckermann and Cala Mandia.

A delighted Lynch praised his horse, saying:

“The horse has been in great form recently. To win here is really great and I am delighted with him. It is a great class to win, Cristello is very impulsive, a real fighter and trier so we work well together.”

Ten clear rounds

From the international field of 32 contenders, there were 10 clear rounds that made it into the jump off. First to return to the ring home hero Marcus Ehning and A la Carte NRW. They jumped clear and set a time of 38.46 seconds. Darragh Kenny swifty knocked him off top spot with Vinci de Beaufour to stop the clock in 36.99 seconds.

Young talent Andrzej Oplatek and Conthinder opted for a slightly steadier pace counting on a double clear to help them stay in the placings. While it started to unravel for Pieter Devos after he clipped the Longines oxer and misjudged the side to the final fence causing a refusal and collecting 18 faults, in the end, to rule themselves out of contention.

Though many top-class international riders tried to better Kenny’s performance, all failed until his fellow Irishman took to the arena.

Lynch and Cristello cleared every fence, with the pair shaving milliseconds off the time. They flew towards the last to stop the clock in 36.47 seconds, to take the win, and give Irish riders a 1-2 in Berlin.

The Longines Global Champions Tour and GCL team series now moves to the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London from 13-15 August 2021.

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The pair will compete in the Dressage competition at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Sixty competitors that take part in the opening Grand Prix. The top 18 will qualify for the individual final on Wednesday, July 28th.

Eventing

The Irish Eventing team is Sam Watson, Cathal Daniels, Sarah Ennis and Austin O’Connor (reserve). They will get their Olympic campaign underway on Friday, July 30th, with the opening Dressage phase. Next, the Cross Country takes place on Sunday, August 1st. The Eventing team and individual Olympic medals will be decided after the jumping phase on Monday, August 2nd.

Showjumping

The Irish Show Jumping team arrive in Tokyo hoping to challenge for the team gold medal. The team of Bertram Allen, Darragh Kenny, Cian O’Connor and Shane Sweetnam (reserve) will first compete in the individual competition on Tuesday, August 3rd.

Thirty of the 75 starters are set to qualify for the individual final on Wednesday, August 4th. The first round of the Show Jumping team competition takes place on Friday, August 6th, with 10 of the 20 teams looking to book a place in the team final on Saturday, August 7th.

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The Irish combination beat off many of the world’s top horses and riders to claim the top prize of almost €100,000.

Kenny, who only took up the ride in April of Idalville d’Esprit, was one of just six to qualify for round two.

Drawn last to go, they produced an unbeatable clear in 37.89 seconds.

Austria’s Max Kühner finished as runner-up with Eic Coriolis des Isles in 38.07 seconds. Belgium’s Olivier Philippaerts took third place with H&M Legend of Love, clocking 38.66 seconds.

Earlier on Saturday, Kenny had also topped the podium in the Global Champions League of Monaco for his Paris Panthers team. His win in the GCL Grand Prix now means he has booked his place in the Prague Super Grand Prix final later this year.

The County Offaly native said of his Monaco success:

“My horse felt fantastic! I have been a bit unlucky recently having one down in my recent Grand Prix. I said to my owner last week that I just need to ride him better and he jump better and all weekend he was fantastic. He loves this ring in Monaco. I was just thinking about today and I just wanted to do a good job for him.”

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The Michael Blake-managed team consisted of Shane Sweetnam, Darragh Kenny, Bertram Allen and Cian O’Connor.

Ireland, who are the reigning Longines FEI Nations Cup world champions, were in share of the lead with Switzerland at the halfway stage on a zero score.

Shane Sweetnam was the first Irish rider to enter the arena with Karlin Van’t Vennehof and they left all the fences standing – finishing with just a time fault.

Darragh Kenny then jumped clear with VDL Cartello and that was followed by another perfect clear from Bertram Allen with The Irish Sport Horse Pacino Amiro.

Ireland were assured to finish the first round on at worst just a time fault and in second place with the last line riders left to jump but a clear from anchor rider Cian O’Connor would put Ireland in a share of the lead with Switzerland.

A clear round from O’Connor and the Irish Sport Horse Kilkenny saw Ireland match the Swiss first round effort of a zero score heading into round two. Britain and Italy were lurking close behind in joint third on just a time fault while Belgium were also in the hunt on four faults.

Second Round

Sweetnam got Ireland underway in the second round with a four fault score – the same as the first Swiss rider, meaning the two countries still could not be separated. Italy began to apply the pressure when their first rider in the second round jumped clear.

Darragh Kenny looked set to complete a double clear performance but a foot in the water saw him finish with four faults aboard VDL Cartello. That moved Italy into the lead on a time fault, with Ireland, Switzerland and Belgium then tied for second on four faults with two riders remaining for each team.

Bertram Allen and Pacino Amiro (ISH) also finished with four faults second time out and that put Ireland onto a best possible score of eight faults heading into the last line of riders.

Cian O’Connor and Kilkenny (ISH) came close to a double clear round when last to go, however the very last fence fell to leave them with the same four fault score as his three fellow team members in the second round.

A strong finish by Switzerland saw them claim victory on a four fault score while Italy took runner-up spot on seven faults. Belgium on eight faults took third with Britain fourth (9 faults) just ahead of Ireland in fifth on 12 faults.

Ireland’s next five-star FEI Nations Cup outing in Europe Division 1 will be at Sopot in Poland next Friday, June 18th.

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