Ireland Finish Third In Eventing Nations Cup At Ballindenisk

Though marginally improving yesterday's points gap behind the leading team, Ireland finished third at today's FEI Eventing Nations' Cup held at Ballindenisk in Co. Cork.

The compulsory elimination of Sam Watson and Horseware Bushman after a fall on the cross country track reduced Ireland's scoring options, and though his fellow team members all went clear in today's phase, the accumulated points after dressage and show jumping were not sufficient to catch the British team, who overtook France to collect the winners' trophy.

The individual Irish team scores were:
Sam Watson/Horseware Bushman (ISH) - Eliminated Sarah Ennis/Sugar Brown Babe (ISH) - 47.5 Josephy Murphy/Electric Cruise (ISH) - 54 Camilla Sperirs/Portersize Just a Jif (ISH) - 54.2

Ennis finished sixth individually, with Murphy in ninth and Speirs in tenth place. Britain's Oliver Townend and the Irish Sport Horse Cooley Master Class were the individual winners in the Nations' Cup.

Ballindenisk was the first time Ireland had hosted a leg of the FEI Eventing Nations' Cup series.

In the other classes at Ballindenisk, Ireland's Elizabeth Power won the CIC2* on the Irish Sport Horse HHS Comporta Beach, with fellow Irish rider Alison Holden taking the CIC1* on Maximus Orielius.

In show jumping, Tipperary's Shane Breen claimed third place in the Grand Prix at three-star Lummen in Belgium aboard Confident of Victory, with Ireland's Michael Duffy and Widny in eighth, and Harry Marshall and Kingdom in tenth.

At Italy's three-star Grand Prix at San Giovanni in Marignano, Ireland's Jonathan Gordon and Bario van T Martendonkerf placed fifth, with Germany's Marc Bettinger and Quannan-R in first place.