Eleven combinations have met the qualification criteria for the upcoming Europeans – the highest number of Irish athletes ever to do so for a championship – and HSI Dressage High Performance Director Anne Marie Dunphy has named the nominated entries as follows;

Jennifer Harnett (based in Amsterdam) with Pilates Amsterdam’s Eximio (by Zircon).

Sorrell Klatzko (Co. Kildare) with her own and Janine Shoffner’s Turbo (by Totilas).

Abigail Lyle (Co. Down) with Fenella Quinn’s Farrell (by Fabergas) and with her own and Caroline Clarry’s Giraldo (by Harmony’s Rousseau).

Anna Merveldt (Co. Kildare) with Mario Greco and Giovanna Mazza’s Esporim (by Pagaw).

Fenella Quinn (based in Aberdeen) with her own, Compton Ross and Jacqui Ross’s Hawtins Delicato (by Diamond Hit).

Judy Reynolds (Co. Kildare) with her own and Patrick Heavey’s For Fun 51 (by Furstenball OLD) and BG J. Hinnemann & Next Generation Dressurpferde’s Rockman Royal NG (by Rock Forever).

Also long listed for Ireland having achieved the qualification criteria:

Carolyn Mellor (Co. Down) with her own Gouverneur M (by Voice).

Dane Rawlins (based in Sussex) with his own and Greg Powell’s Espoire (by Ehrenmann).

Judy Reynolds (Co. Kildare) with Wejdan Majed A M AL Malki’s Faisao (by Spartacus).

The final squad of four to represent Ireland in Riesenbeck next month, plus non-travelling reserves, will be announced ahead of the definite entries.

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The visitor denied two of Ireland’s Aga Khan Trophy-winning combinations from Friday, Conor Swail with Count Me In and Shane Sweetnam with the Irish Sport Horse James Kann Cruz as they filled second and third places respectively.

Ireland’s Andrew Bourns and the Irish Sport Horse Sea Topblue were fourth while French combination Megane Moissonnier and Cordial were fifth.

Ireland’s Rhys Williams and the 7-year-old Playboy JT Z took the International 7 & 8 year-old competition. Tipperary’s Denis Lynch with Dark Chocolate took the runner-up spot, while Jason Higgins and Heritage MBF came third.

Kildare’s Mikey Pender achieved yet another RDS win on Sunday when winning the six-year-old ‘Cruising’ National Championship with HHS Rose. Leah Stack and Laurina won the 5-Year-Old ‘Flexible’ National Championship.

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Riding the 15-year-old stallion Hearton Du Bois Halleux, Pender took his fourth five-star win of this year’s Dublin Horse Show.

Pender and Hearton Du Bois Halleux were the only combination to clear the wall in the fifth round, when it stood at a height of 2m20 (7ft 2 inches).

Daniel Coyle with Just Happy Hero Z and Commandant Geoff Curran with the Irish Sport Horse Bishops Quarter shared second place. Both combinations picked up four faults in the last round of the competition.

Tipperary rider Trevor Breen and Germaine W took the 1m50 Dublin Stakes, going clear in 36.00 seconds in the jump-off.

Mark McAuley and Jasco Vd Bisschop took second place in 36.23 seconds, while third place went to French rider Megane Moissonnier and Bracadabra in 36.35 seconds.

Richard Howley and Chinook won the Royal Dublin Society Stakes. Jordan Coyle and Picador finished as runners-up while third place went to Brazil’s Yuri Mansur and Away Semilly.

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The Michael Blake-managed team produced six clear rounds, including three from Conor Swail and Count Me In to lift the famous equestrian cup for the first time since 2015.

In the seven-nation event, Ireland had been drawn sixth to jump, with Swail and Count Me In operating as pathfinders for the side.

In an exciting opening round, Blake’s side produced three clear rounds, from Swail (Count Me In), Shane Sweetnam (James Kann Cruz) and Cian O’Connor (Kilkenny).

The other member of the team, eighteen-year-old Max Wachman riding Berlux Z, had just one fence down in the first round.

Ireland ended the opening round on a zero score, followed by France and Switzerland on four faults each respectively.

Marc Dilasser (Aristo Du Gevres) and Edward Levy (Uno De Cerisy) produced clear rounds for Henk Nooren’s side, while Steve Guerdat (Dynamix De Belheme) and Martin Fuchs (Cardano CH) did likewise for the Swiss.

Netherlands and Belgium were next after round one, each on 12 faults, while USA and Norway (who were competing in The Aga Khan Trophy for the first time) each recorded scores of 20 opening round faults.

Second Round

France began round 2 with three clear rounds and with two of the first three Swiss riders both faulting at the water, France would finish on a worst-possible score of 4 faults.

Count Me In and Conor Swail went clear in round two while Max Wachman had the final part of the treble down.

Just as Cork rider Shane Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz looked to be heading for a double clear round, a pole fell at the last, meaning Ireland would need their anchor leg combination of Cian O’Connor and Kilkenny to go clear in order to force a jump-off with the French.

The Irish combination duly obliged in order to force a jump-off over a shorter course.

Massive clear round from Cian O'Connor to send Ireland to a jump-off against France for the Aga Khan trophy at the @DublinHorseShow
https://t.co/XnOP6grnB7 pic.twitter.com/pWMtHbNq2y

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 19, 2022

Both Ireland and France opted for their original pathfinders, Conor Swail and Marc Dilasser, to contest the jump-off, as both had produced double-clear rounds during the competition.

With Dilasser and Aristo Du Gevres going clear in a time of 31.81 seconds, the pressure was now on the Irish combination, not alone to go clear, but to do so in a faster time.

Conor Swail and Count Me In beat the French time in the jump-off to deliver the Aga Khan Trophy to Ireland @RDS @DublinHorseShow
https://t.co/XnOP6grnB7 pic.twitter.com/xYuiDgHPtk

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 19, 2022

Swail and Count Me In produced their third clear round of the competition, just as the French combination had moments earlier, but the Irish representatives went clear in a faster time of 30.31 seconds, winning the Longines Nations Cup of Ireland for The Aga Khan Perpetual Trophy for the home nation.

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Ireland climbed from overnight ninth place to finish fourth overall and take one of the five Olympic places on offer – and at the finish, missed out on the bronze medal by just one penalty.

Just the top 10 teams from the 22 that started the week made it through to the final under floodlights. Ireland starting in ninth place overall, carrying forward a score of 17.15 penalties from the first two rounds held on Wednesday and Thursday.

Tipperary’s Denis Lynch was first to jump with his Rome Grand Prix winner Brooklyn Heights. The World No.25 produced an excellent round, jumping clear over the fences, picking up just one time fault over what was proving a very difficult course.

Wexford’s Bertram Allen then gave Ireland another boost when he jumped an outstanding clear round with The Irish Sport Horse Pacino Amiro. Those rounds from Lynch and Allen moved Ireland up five places to fourth with two riders left to jump for each of the 10 teams.

Third to go for Ireland, Meath’s Cian O’Connor and C Vier 2 were clear until the penultimate combination where they had one fence down and picked up one time fault for a five fault score. That score from O’Connor would prove crucial.

Derry’s Daniel Coyle had a couple of fences down with Legacy, after which Coyle decided to retire knowing he couldn’t improve Ireland’s score.

Sweden claimed a well-deserved team gold medal after finishing on a score of just 7.69. Netherlands took silver on 19.31 while Britain just pipped Ireland for bronze on 22.66 seconds.

Ireland in fourth had a final score of 23.15, while Germany took the last Olympic qualifying place on a score of 24.76.

Irish team manager Michael Blake said:

“Obviously we are delighted to take an Olympic qualification place at the very first opportunity as it now gives us two full years to prepare for the Games. It is slightly bittersweet as we came so close to winning a medal.

Horse Sport Ireland CEO Denis Duggan added:

“Huge congratulations to Michael Blake and his team on a fantastic performance at the World Championships and in gaining Olympic qualification. To qualify here at the very first opportunity against all of the top teams in the world, is hugely significant, as it gives us as much time as possible to prepare for Paris.”

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The Aga Khan, which takes place on Friday, 9 August 2022, will be Ireland’s fourth and final points-scoring round of the 2022 season in Europe Division 1.

The competition will be broadcast live as part of RTÉ Sport’s coverage of the Dublin Horse Show at the RDS, which runs from August 17th to 21st.

The Irish squad members are as follows:

Wexford’s Bertram Allen
Meath’s Cian O’Connor
Down’s Conor Swail
Cork’s Shane Sweetnam
Tipperary’s Max Wachman

Irish showjumping team manager Michael Blake said:

“We are very much looking forward to the Aga Khan, it is always a very important and special Nations Cup for us, even more so this year as we have missed Dublin Horse Show due to Covid for the last two years. It is always a huge privilege to compete on home soil and I’m very optimistic of a good result with what I believe is a very strong squad.”

Following the Longines FEI Nations Cup of Ireland at the Dublin Horse Show, the top seven teams on the league table will qualify for the Nations Cup final in Barcelona.

The teams who finish in eighth, ninth and tenth places on the table will be relegated to the EEF Series for 2023.

Five teams, (France, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland) will compete for Nations Cup points in Dublin. The USA and Brazil will also compete in Dublin but will not be eligible for points.

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A total of 31 combinations qualified for the two round $500,000 Grand Prix, with only the top 12 advancing to the second round of the class.

The Limerick rider and Imerald Van’t Voorhof posted one of only seven clears in the opening round of the class. They finished the competition as the only combination not to lower a fence over the two rounds, as they picked up just a time fault in the second round.

Mexican riders Eugenio Garza Perez and Patricio Pasquel both carried four faults into round two, but clear second rounds put them in second and third places respectively.

“He’s a great water jumper (Imerald Van’t Voorhof) and very brave. I had a feeling if I brought him here he would excel.” Paul O’Shea on bringing his horse to Spruce Meadows for the first time.

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In the North American Ring, The McNerney Family Cup 1.45m, saw fifty-four horse and rider combinations tackle the Anthony d’Ambrosio-built course. 

Only seven combinations posted clear first rounds to advance to the jump off.

Jordan Coyle and Centriko Volo crossed the finish line in a time of 40.44 seconds to secure their trip to the winner’s circle.

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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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Taylor Vard’s team of Thomas Ryan, Jessica Burke, Kevin Gallagher and Jenny Rankin finished the two rounds of jumping with just four faults.

Tipperary’s Ryan with Springfield 21 and Sligo’s  Gallagher with Ballypatrick Flamenco (ISH) both jumped foot-perfect double clear rounds.

Galway’s Jessica Burke with Namamia and Tyrone’s Jenny Rankin with Carmela Z were also clear in the first round.

A jump-off was needed to decide the winners with Belgium coming out on top ahead of Spain in second and Ireland in third.

The remaining qualifying places for the EEF Nations Cup Final went to Sweden and Portugal.

The Longines EEF Series is a Show Jumping Nations Cup circuit created by the European Equestrian Federation which replaced the FEI Nations Cup Europe Division 2.

Ireland is a Europe Division 1 nation but can field teams in selected EEF Series rounds.

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