It is ironic that Ireland’s senior show jumping team at last weekend’s FEI Nations Cup World Final in Barcelona achieved what our side at last month’s World Equestrian Games (WEG) failed to do. They placed sixth in Friday’s preliminary round and qualified for Sunday’s rich Longines final. In Tryon Ireland placed seventh and missed out on one of the six Olympic qualifying slots on offer. It is also ironic that Darragh Kenny, who could not be available for the Equestrian Games, was the very one that delivered the crucial last to go clear in the Barcelona preliminary – which ensured sixth place among the cut of eight into the final, where Ireland took €167,000 for overall third.
It is ironic that Ireland’s senior show jumping team at last weekend’s FEI Nations Cup World Final in Barcelona achieved what our side at last month’s World Equestrian Games (WEG) failed to do. They placed sixth in Friday’s preliminary round and qualified for Sunday’s rich Longines final. In Tryon Ireland placed seventh and missed out on one of the six Olympic qualifying slots on offer.
It is also ironic that Darragh Kenny, who could not be available for the Equestrian Games, was the very one that delivered the crucial last to go clear in the Barcelona preliminary – which ensured sixth place among the cut of eight into the final, where Ireland took €167,000 for overall third.
So go the vagaries of Irish show jumping, whereby we seem strong one moment and yet are so dependent on the horses available for Manager Rodrigo Pessoa from our Diaspora of some 11 riders in the world’s top 100.
Olympic dream
Pessoa has set Olympic qualification as a priority for the Irish team and sees that achievement as the legacy of his time in charge. Now having missed out in Tryon, he must look to next year’s Europeans in Rotterdam to realise that dream.
Granted his selection won the 2017 European title at Gothenburg. However, 2019 is going to be a very different challenge, because along with us a host of quality continental sides will be aiming to grab hold of one of the three Olympic qualifying slots available for Tokyo.
The odds
On a positive note, four of Europe’s most powerful squads have already qualified for Tokyo out of WEG – Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. This leaves us with the job of snatching one of the three slots against the likes of France, Britain, Italy, Belgium, Spain and Portugal – all of which we placed above in Tryon. This is very doable.
But then again, we were sure of that top six place at WEG. Should it not go our way once more in Rotterdam there is still a slim passage for us to Tokyo at next year’s Nations Cup Final in Barcelona – where the highest placed not already qualified will get a ticket.
It is interesting that in the run-up to the budget, Minister Creed flagged the possibility of increased funding due to recent international success. Olympic qualification by our eventers and medals by our young horses and junior riders must have been on his mind. One can only hope that this time next year his department will have Olympic qualification in show jumping to speak about as well.
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: