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.

The post Irish Showjumping Squad Named for Aga Khan Trophy appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

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.

The post Irish Showjumping team fifth in Longines FEI Nations Cup of France appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.