In a class where just one fence separated the top six teams at the finish, Meath’s Alexander Butler was Ireland’s pathfinder. Butler and Chilli B finished with four faults picked up at the second last fence.

Galway’s Andrew Bourns with Sea Topblue (ISH) also came home with four faults, with the the last part of the combination their only fence to fall.

Tipperary’s Shane Breen  gave Ireland a huge boost with a perfect clear round with the 9-year-old stallion Vistogrand.

Twenty-year-old Jack Ryan from Kilkenny was last to go for Ireland in the first round and came home with eight faults with the Irish Sport Horse BBS McGregor. 

That left Ireland in a share of third place with Belgium and Brazil on eight faults at the halfway stage. France and Germany shared the lead on four faults while hosts Britain were on 12 faults in sixth with Sweden in seventh on 20 faults.

Second Round

In the second round, Butler and Chilli B repeated their first round score of four faults.

Bourns and The Irish Sport Horse Sea Topblue produced a brilliant clear round to keep Ireland still within one fence of the leaders.

Shane Breen and Vistogrand had one fence down for four faults. With one rider remaining for each team, Germany had taken the outright lead, while France and Brazil were close behind in second.

Jack Ryan and the 10-year-old gelding BBS McGregor (ISH) produced an outstanding clear as last to go for Ireland and that left Michael Blake’s team on a final score of 12 faults.

Belgium also finished on 12 but a faster time saw them take fourth while Ireland finished fifth. Three second round clears for Britain saw them stay on their first round score of 12 faults to finish sixth, while Sweden finished seventh on a 36 fault total.

Germany had a chance to win if their last rider jumped clear but when Philipp Weishaupt had a fence down with Asathir, Germany would go into a three-way jump-off with France and Brazil who all finished on eight faults.

France eventually took the winners trophy with the fastest clear of the jump-off while Germany finished second and Brazil took third.

Ireland’s fifth place finish in Hickstead means they collect 70 league points, moving them up to 220 points and are now in equal seventh place on the Europe Division 1 league table with one round remaining.

Ireland’s last opportunity to gain points in Europe Division 1 will be in their home Nations Cup at the Dublin Horse Show for the Aga Khan Trophy on August 19th, after which the top seven teams in Europe Division 1 will qualify for the Barcelona finale.

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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 twenty-one-year-old Kilkenny rider and BBS McGregor, who is owned and bred by his mum Marguerite Ryan, were a key part of the recent winning Irish Nations Cup team in Abu Dhabi.

Ryan picked up just one time fault in the first round of yesterday’s competition which was enough to give one of the 10 places available in the jump-off. He kept the fences standing again in round 2 to finish on his one fault score from the first round to take second place overall and €30,000.

Tipperary’s Trevor Breen and Highland President finished in seventh place with one fence down in the jump-off, just ahead of Derry’s David Simpson and Foudre F in eighth.

Victory in the FEI World Cup Grand Prix of Sharjah went to Latvia’s Kristaps Neretnieks and Valour with the only double clear of the competition. Sweden’s Evelina Tovek finished third with Winnetou de la Hamente Z.

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Ireland were pushed all the way by the United Arab Emirates who finished as runners-up on four faults. Britain finished third of the seven teams that competed on 17 faults.

The in-form combination of Shane Breen and the Team Z7-owned Z7 Ipswich were first to go for Ireland in the opening round. They completed the course inside the time allowed but picked up four faults at the water.

Twenty-year-old Jack Ryan from Co Kilkenny and BBS McGregor produced an immaculate clear round to keep Ireland among the early pace-setters.

Derry’s David Simpson and Foudre F added another clear to put Ireland in a strong position with one rider left to go in the first round.

Anchor rider Trevor Breen put Ireland on a zero score when he and Highland President jumped clear. Ireland led at the halfway stage as the only team on a zero score. The home team from the UAE was second on four faults.

Double clears for Ryan and Simpson

In the second round, UAE’s Abdullah Mohd Al Marri, jumped clear. However Shane Breen then matched his performance with an excellent clear with Z7 Ipswich to keep Ireland with a one fence advantage over the hosts.

Another clear from the second UAE rider Hamad Ali Al Kirbi kept them on a four fault score before Jack Ryan and BBS McGregor produced a double clear.

Ali Hamad Al Kirbi produced another clear for the UAE, meaning the home team would finish on a two round total of just four faults with three second round clears.

Ireland needed a clear from one of their two remaining riders to take victory. David Simpson completed a brilliant double clear performance with Foudre F meaning Ireland could not be beaten.

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