Ireland excels with a commanding win in the Nations Cup here at Montenmedio

With a plethora  of classes, it was a really busy day of jumping here at the October Tour and the highlight of the day for the audience,  was the Nations Cup

The Milton arena was home to the first Longines Ranking class of the day, the 1.45m CSI2* and Irish riders started off as they meant to end the day, with a win from Tom Wachman and Cathalina S, the only pair to stop the clock in under 63s In second was Dutch rider Sanne Thijssen with Cupcake Z;  Sanne has had a great week so far, as she was also the winner of yesterday’s 7yr old class with Make it Happen. Third was another top Irish rider, a regular here at the Tour, Billy Twomey who was riding, Julius.  In fact Irish riders also took fifth and sixth in this class, with Niamh McEvoy and Seamus Hughes Kennedy, illustrating the sheer amount of talent that Ireland has at the moment.

The 2PhSp 1.40, CSI2* was held in the Baloubet du Rouet arena and our winner was another rider having a great week, Abdelkebir Ouaddar with Ceika Malouine. Second was Mathieu Bourdeaud'Hui with Quint VD Bisschop, and hot on his heels was the Irish rider, Jack Ryan taking third with Soblensky VH Scheefkasteel Z.

The CSIYH*, 7yr old class was set at 1.35m today and had an Irish top two, who were just 0.03s apart… Once again Jack Ryan topped the podium with the very fast Mondavi who is by Tyson, and just pipped Cameron Hanley to the post with Matricia who is by Inaico.  Both these horses have had excellent results this week.  In third was Alexander Zetterman with Gorklintgards Caspian DWB (by Carrera VDL).

The CSI2*, 1.30m class was also a 2PhSp and was won by British rider, Eleanor Hall Mcateer and Sacino. Victoria Sprogis was second with Mad Max and in third was Rodrigo Sampaio Peixoto with L-Spirit.

The CSIO3* 1.40 was also in the Milton arena and saw Danish rider, Soren Moeller Rohde and Zamarolus Ask take an impressive lead in just 28.9s almost 1.5s faster than the Belgian rider, Louis Mahieu, who took second with Et Toc de Hus. Third was another Belgian rider, Thomas De Wit with Ice Twin Girl Dw Z.

The 5yr old class was set at 1.20m and once again the Irish ruled the roost. Shane O'Reilly won with Bossa Nova Boy. Second were Marco Litterscheidt and Astronaut L and third was Cressy Neads with Oswestry.

The CSI2*, 1.20m class saw  Amelia Banks Clark, take top of the podium and also third place with impeccable rounds on both Labatt and Hocan  8respt´). Once again taking second place, was Victoria Sprogis this time with CSF Foxy Lady.     

The last CSI2* class was in the Baloubet du Rouet arena set at 1.10m,  and it also had an Irish winner; Ella Kenny with Carrickadawson Womanizer.  In second was Columbian, Jorge Humberto Gómez Peláez, with Capitano Nero HG Z and third was Eleanora Ljungman riding Jamaica EBH.

In the Pony classes Daphne Rayes Simo won the 1,10m, Gabriel Kilzie with Nathan the 1m and in the 0,80-0,90m the winner was Romy Galet Roux.

The biggest event today by far was the Nations Cup, which was also a Longines Ranking event.  This was well up to the 1.50m height and is the last Nations Cup round for 2024. The Irish team took control from the word go;  with all four riders going clear in the first phase.  Indeed in the individual Ranking claas, (after the first round) all four Irish riders were in the top ten fastest clears, with Michael Pender and HHS Los Angles taking top spot,  French Stanislas de Malet in second with Zambo MZ and Brazilian João Victor Castro in third.  After this first round only eight teams move forward to the second phase. 

Despite picking up nine faults in the second round, the Irish team still dominated the event and were clear winners.  The team was made up of Michael Pender, Jason Foley with Jacksonville Eurohill, Seamus Hughes Kennedy with ESI Rocky and Olympic rider, Cian O’Connor with Iron Man. 

Second place went to the Belgian team that consisted of Thibault Philippaerts, Bertrand Genin, Mathieu Bourdeaud’Hui and Thomas de Wit. Third was the American team, made up of Taylor Kain, Vani Khosla, Raleigh Hiler and Zayna Rizvi.

In fourth were Brazil, with Pedro Veniss, João Víctor Castro, Mariana Frauches Chaves and Luiz Felipe de Azevedo. The German team were fifth with two clears in this second round, from Maximilian Lill and Leonie Böckmann.

Tomorrow is another busy day of jumping, during which we will celebrate two Longines Ranking classes:  the Royal Bliss Trophy in the CSIO3* and also the Stephex Grand Prix in the CSI2*.  The whole event is sponsored by the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport, and co-financed by the European Union and the Provincial Council of Cadiz.