Congratulations again to Ireland’s show jumping team who emerged triumphant at the RDS in Dublin with a decisive win in the Aga Khan Trophy competition, registering a team total of four faults and the last man not needing to jump in the final round.
Twenty year-old Wexford rider Bertram Allen opened for Ireland on the 17 year-old Romanov, but with the added difficulty of also being the first competitor of the eight nations tackling the course. Allen came home with just one fence down to put four faults on the board for his team.
Second up, and making his Aga Khan debut, was Tipperary’s Greg Broderick on the Irish Sport Horse MHS Going Global, but the novelty of the occasion was lost on the nine year-old gelding, who delivered a confident clear round in front of a packed stadium.
Third man in was Olympic Bronze medallist Cian O’Connor with his new horse Good Luck, also making its first appearance at the Dublin Nations’ Cup, but the stallion lived up to its name, as O’Connor came home with all the poles standing.
Offaly’s Darragh Kenny and Sans Souci Z maintained the rhythm with yet another clear round for Ireland, leaving the host nation on a zero score at the end of the first round, and leading the field, but with the Netherlands just one fence behind and Great Britain in third with a five fault total.
In the second round, Bertram Allen rectified his previous single mistake with a more typical classic clear, and when Broderick and MHS Going Global recorded one of only two double clear rounds achieved in the whole competition, Ireland’s position started to look unassailable. The Netherlands fell back to an eight fault total, while the British team collapsed in the second round to finish on 23 faults.
Cian O’Connor, celebrating his 100th Nations’ Cup cap for Ireland, came into the arena for the second time with one fence in hand for his team, and when he and Good Luck returned on just four faults the home victory was sealed.
With now just a total of four faults on the leaderboard, anchorman Darragh Kenny did not need to jump to confirm Ireland’s first Aga Khan win since 2012.
Team Manager Robert Splaine said after the competition today: “This was a momentous occasion for us, as it always is when we win in front of the home crowd, whose enthusiasm always lifts our game. This Aga Khan victory falls in with our overall plan, with different combinations improving and maturing as the year progresses. We do aspire to be the best in the world, and hopefully others are now seeing that this is possible.
“We have had tremendous support as well, from our new corporate sponsors Investec, from Horse Sport Ireland’s chairman Pat Wall, and from the generous owners, whose faith in continuing to provide us with world class horses I hope is now being rewarded.
“Today’s Aga Khan win can only give us great confidence for the future, which is now looking a great deal brighter”.
Points gained from today’s impressive performance in front of an ecstatic crowd also ensured that Ireland will stay in Division One of the Furusiyya FEI Nations’ Cup league for 2016, and their fifth place on the series table now qualifies Robert Splaine’s chosen squad for inclusion in the Nations’ Cup Final at Barcelona in September.
The Netherlands took second place in the Aga Khan competition this afternoon, with eight faults, while Switzerland finished third on 13 faults.
