It came down to more than ‘luck of the Irish’ for the home side to take the third leg of the FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ at Millstreet (IRL) this weekend. After finishing in fifth and therefore last place in the dressage phase, they fought back to rise up the order into third position after Saturday’s jumping phase – where all riders had clears. This was before dominating the cross-country phase with four very fast clear rounds to put them on a final score of 110.2. It took on extra significance because despite numerous attempts, this was the first time Ireland has won a Nations Cup event on home turf.
In second place were a highly experienced all-female team representing the USA, who finished on 113.7. Team Australia was just a whisker off with 114.2, which was particularly impressive given they were only fielding three team members.
Speaking after the prize-giving ceremony, Chef d’Equipe of the Irish Team, Dan Albert was delighted that his team were victorious, as despite being a traditionally good Eventing nation, they have had less success in the Nations Cup series over the years. “It was really tight but they (the riders) all have very good jumpers and, most importantly, they really wanted to win on home ground. There was a bit of pressure on Jenny (Kuehnle) to come up with the goods as last to go but she pulled it off. They are a good bunch of riders and they have all come up through the system.”
Jennifer Kuehnle, with her German bred horse Polly Blue Eyes, and Patrick Whelan riding the Irish Sport Horse Altitude, showed real jumping ability by finishing on their Dressage scores around this short-format competition. This gave Ireland a helpful boost, further supported by Ian Cassells jumping a double clear with just 2.4 cross-country time penalties on Millridge Atlantis. Robbie Kearney Irish bred Ballyvillane OBOS had no jumping faults but a handful of time faults in each phase.
Team Ireland (L-R): Ian Cassells/Millridge Atlantis; Patrick Whelan/Altitu; Dag Albert, chef d’équipe; Jennifer Kuehnle/Polly Blue Eyes; Robbie Kearns/Ballyvillane OBOS. (Libby Law Photography)
Whilst this was technically the third leg of the Series, after the last-minute cancellation of the second leg at Chatsworth due to excessive rainfall, a number of riders had re-routed their horses here to Ireland, were the sun shone on Millstreet and big crowds turned out to watch. The riders and supporters were full of praise for the event. Technical delegate Neil Mackenzie-Hall from New Zealand said: “It was a brilliant competition and a great result. Eventing is about three disciplines and today cross-country proved the decider.”
Millstreet rarely fails to attract a top-class field and this year was no exception with a number of high-profile riders in the Team competition including Clarke Johnstone, Tim and Jonelle Price from New Zealand; two-time Olympian William Levett (AUS) as well as a highly experienced female team from the USA, all of whom have successfully competed at five-star level. Five nations came forward with Great Britain and New Zealand winding up on fourth and fifth respectively.
As well as leading riders, Millstreet had all the charm you would expect for an Irish event and is set amidst the spectacular parkland setting in the grounds of Drishane Castle. Run by the Duggan family, Millstreet International Horse Trials has long been a popular event for riders largely owing to their challenging but well-prepared cross-country courses which are designed by Mike Etherington-Smith. The Course Designer is recognised as one of the best in the world, and renowned for giving elite riders and their horses the best preparation for Championships.
Testament to this is the fact Etherington-Smith designed the cross-country courses for the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000 and Hong Kong in 2008, in addition to the World Championships in 2010 and the European Championships in 2005, 2019 and 2021. Once again, riders were full of praise for both the ground conditions and the event as a whole. The Duggan family are great enthusiasts of the sport, hosting international competition for many years.
At this early stage in the competition, Team Australia lead the way on 140 points with France and Ireland on 100 points each. The Nations Cup series goes on to Avenches in Switzerland which will be held next weekend (6-9 June) with the time-honoured autumn finale held in Boekelo (NED) from 10-13 October.
Full results here.
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