Equestrian Ireland stay top of Superleague after Rome Nations Cup

In a notable comeback at the Nations' Cup in Rome today (Friday) the Irish show jumping team finished in third position after placing sixth at the halfway mark, and added six points to their Superleague tally to remain best of the world's top eight show jumping nations.

With a remarkable double clear round from Cork's Billy Twomey and 'Tinka's Serenade', the Irish team finished on 21 faults, overtaking Britain, the United States and France on the demanding second round course at Rome's historic Piazza di Siena.

Pathfinders Shane Sweetnam and 'Amaretto Darco' halved their first round eight fault tally second time out, while Shane Carey with 'Lancero' had one jumping mistake in each round. Cameron Hanley and 'Southwind VDL' were the discard score with nine faults on both outings.

However, Twomey's zero score in both rounds was vital to the team's recovery, and ensured that Ireland held onto its number one position in the FEI Nations' Cup rankings, on 16 points. Ireland won the first leg of the 2011 series at La Baule, France two weeks ago, netting ten points.

Team Ireland Equestrian Team Manager Robert Splaine said: "I was very pleased with the team today, especially as the result keeps us top of the Superleague leaderboard. They fought back very strongly in the second round, but the water cost us a lot, and it was an exceptionally tough course. However, in the overall plan I learned a lot here today. The points gained in Rome will also be a buffer in the event of a poor result later in the series."

The next Nations' Cup Superleague takes place at St. Gallen in Switzerland on June 3.