The Irish senior show jumping team finished what turned out to be an excellent weekend of good results from Irish riders around the world. Rodrigo Pessoa’s team finished second in the Longines FEI Nations Cup in Falsterbo, Sweden on Sunday after a thrilling four-way jump off round. The team consisted of Bertram Allen riding Gin Chin Van Het Lindenhof, Mark McAuley riding Utchan De Belheme, Daniel Coyle riding Cita and Paul O’Shea riding Skara Glen’s Machu Picchu.
The Irish senior show jumping team finished what turned out to be an excellent weekend of good results from Irish riders around the world. Rodrigo Pessoa’s team finished second in the Longines FEI Nations Cup in Falsterbo, Sweden on Sunday after a thrilling four-way jump off round.
The team consisted of Bertram Allen riding Gin Chin Van Het Lindenhof, Mark McAuley riding Utchan De Belheme, Daniel Coyle riding Cita and Paul O’Shea riding Skara Glen’s Machu Picchu.
Ireland held a narrow lead after the first round thanks to three clear rounds. McAuley and Allen picked up four faults each in the second round, leaving Ireland on a team total of four faults. Coyle was Pessoa’s choice for the jump off and he did not disappoint, jumping clear less than one second behind Dutch team rider Johnny Pals
Speaking about the result, Pessoa said: “We had a good first round and we were getting pressurised in the second round from several teams – Italy, Netherlands and Sweden. Our last two riders were really solid. Daniel gave it a fair try in the jump-off. The Dutch rider gave it all or nothing to take the win. All our guys did a great job today. This was a good way to start this triple-header. We move now to Aachen (GER) on Thursday. We head there with a fresh squad and although it is not part of the league, it will be an important Nations Cup for us to build confidence.”
Twomey treble
Cork’s Billy Twomey landed three wins within 24 hours at the Swedish show, including winning the €200,000 Longines Grand Prix on Friday. Twomey and Mark McAuley made it into the 12-horse Grand Prix jump off.
Twomey was riding his own and Kim Barzilay’s Kimba Flamenco. The pair set the time to beat in the final round and managed to hold onto the top spot, collecting €66,000 for first place. McAuley finished fifth with Jasco V Bisschop, collecting €12,000.
Twomey won the 1.45m speed class riding Joe Flynn’s Irish Sport Horse Ardcolum Duke on Thursday and also won the Derby qualified on Friday morning. The Irish domination continued as McAuley won the 1.50m speed class on Thursday with Jasco V Bisschop, finishing just ahead of Limerick’s Paul O’Shea and Skara Glens Presence.
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