The Show, now its 148th year, will runs from today, Wednesday until Sunday evening.

The highlight of the five-day show sill be the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup for the award of the Aga Khan Trophy on Friday afternoon.

Michael Blake’s Irish team will bid to successfully defend the trophy which they won last year.

The first International competition in the Main Arena, the Speed Stakes, will get underway this morning at 11.25am.

There will be also be action throughout the week in Simmonscourt, Ring 1 and Ring 2.

Further information can be found on the Dublin Horse Show website.

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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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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 event will be live on RTÉ 2 and RTÉ Players as Michael Blake’s Irish team chase points in Europe’s top division.

Irish Show Jumping team manager Michael Blake has named his four team members, with Ireland drawn first too jump of the eight teams.

Derry’s Daniel Coyle with Legacy will be the pathfinders. Tipperary’s Denis Lynch and Brooklyn Heights will be next into the main arena for Ireland. Another Tipperary man Trevor Breen with Highland President will be the team’s third representative in the class. Cork’s Shane Sweetnam and the Irish Sport Horse James Kann Cruz (ISH) will be on the anchor leg.

Ireland will compete against The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden and Britain today.

Italy will also be among the starters but as a non-Division 1 team are not eligible for league points. The home Dutch team are defending champions, with Ireland’s last win in Rotterdam coming in 2000.

Ireland’s first points-scoring round in Europe Division 1 saw them collect 70 league points following a fourth place finish at Sopot in Poland.

Ireland’s remaining points scoring opportunities after today will be at Hickstead on July 29th and Ireland’s home Nations Cup for the Aga Khan Trophy at the Dublin Horse Show on Friday August 19^th. Both of these Longines FEI Nations Cup competitions will also be broadcast live on RTÉ.

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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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Team manager Michael Blake has named Shane Sweetnam, Bertram Allen, Michael G Duffy and Eoin McMahon for Ireland’s Longines FEI Nations Cup team.

Ireland have been drawn fourth to jump in the 10-team contest.

Cork’s Shane Sweetnam will partner Karlin Van’t Vennehof.

Wexford’s Bertram Allen is aboard the Irish Sport Horse Pacino Amiro.

Mayo’s Michael G Duffy rides the Irish Sport Horse Lapuccino 2.

Clare’s Eoin McMahon partners Chacon 2.

Ireland finished fifth in their opening Longines FEI Nations Cup in Europe Division 1 at La Baule in France. The Irish team was third last time out at Sopot in Poland.

Rotterdam is the last Nations Cup in Europe Division 1 before the 2021 final in Barcelona for which Ireland have already qualified.

The Longines FEI Nations Cup of The Netherlands starts at 4pm Irish time with live coverage on FEITV.

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Under changes approved by the FEI Board, the 22 teams are 10 from Europe, three from North America, two from South America, two from the Middle East, two from Asia/Australasia, one apiece from Africa and Eurasia, plus the host nation Spain.

The rules revision means that all 10 teams in Europe Division 1, including champions Ireland, are guaranteed a place in the 2020 FEI Nations Cup Final, where usually only the top seven teams from Europe Division 1 would qualify.

The qualification system for some divisions (listed below) will be based on the Longines Rankings, using the combined points of each National Federations’ four best Athletes on the Longines Ranking published one month prior to the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final:

South America: 2 teams via Longines Ranking.
Asia/Australasia: 2 teams via Longines Ranking.
Africa: 1 team via Longines Ranking.
Eurasia: 1 team via Longines Ranking.

The October final in Barcelona is totally dependent on what happens with the Covid-19 pandemic, with the FEI optimistic about hosting the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final.

It has also been confirmed that there will be no promotion and relegation this year in Europe’s top division, meaning Division 1 will start with the same 10 teams for the 2021 season.

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