The event, part of the League Of Nations Final, saw the 25-year-old Kildare rider partner the Irish Sport Horse HHS Calais – bred by the late Ita Brennan – to victory.

From a starting list of 43 combinations, which included all three individual Olympic  medallists from Paris, only 12 combinations made it through to the second round jump-off.

Swede Rolf-Göran Bengtsson and Zuccero Hv had set what looked like an unbeatable time of 51.64 seconds in the jump-off.

With the Irish combination last to compete in the final round, Pender and HHS Calais left all the poles in place to stop the timers almost a second faster than Bengtsson and Zuccero, in a time of 50.88 seconds, to take the victory.

Spaniard Armando Trapote with Tornado Vs, who had held pole position earlier in the final round, completed the podium with a third place finish.

Pender’s Barcelona victory comes on the back of his recent gold medal at the Young Horse World Championships in Belgium, while Pender and HHS Calais (ISH) jumped double clear  in the five-star BMO Nations Cup at Spruce Meadows, Canada, to help Ireland achieve a runner-up finish early last month.

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According to equiratings, Tipperary rider Denis Lynch has jumped five clears from six round in this class since 2012 and has most podium finishes with three during this time.

Sligo’s Richard Howley won the Cashel Palace Hotel Stakes last year with Equine America Consulet de Prelet Z. His winning margin was 2.33 seconds.

Other Irish riders to have tasted success in this class since 2012 include in 2018 Shane Sweetnam with Indra van de Oude Heihoef; 2017 Bertram Allen with Izzy by Picobello; 2015 Paul O’Shea and Skara Glen’s Machu Picchu and 2012 Alexander Butler aboard Will Wimble.

Equiratings rate the following as the top-three contenders for today’s Cashel Palace Hotel Stakes: Kevin Staut [FRA] with Beau de Laubry Z, Conor Swail [IRL] and Count Me In and Ben Maher [GBR] and Point Break

The French combination arrive in Dublin following a five-star Grand Prix success at Dinard, which earned a prize of €125,000. Their career best performance together was their last outing in July.

Conor Swail and Count Me In were the home heroes in the Nations Cup of Ireland two years ago. At 17 years of age, Count Me In is the joint-oldest horse in the field today. His last three rounds at today’s height of 160cm were all clear.

Briton Ben Maher and his original Olympic horse Point Break, have the second highest expected round one clear chance (56%), according to equiratings, behind Conor Swail and Count Me In (57%). The British combination have already jumped 10 five-star 160 clears from just 18 career attempts.

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The main International class on day one, the Sport Ireland Classic, saw a field of 50 combinations take to the Main Arena.

This class brought further success for the home combinations, with Offaly’s Darragh Kenny and Chic Chic leading the victory lap after a clear round in 69.17 seconds.

Mikey Pender and HHS Los Angeles, who really went for Kenny’s time, were slightly slower – coming home clear in 70.20 seconds for the runner-up position.

American McLain Ward, last of the 50 combinations to go, took third on the podium, after a 70.96 clear round with First Lady.

Cian O’Connor and Fermoy, who had lead the class for a while, eventually finished in fourth place – 71.83 seconds.

There will be 15 international classes throughout the five days, including the Underwriting Exchange Nations Cup of Ireland for the award of the Aga Khan Trophy.

The highly anticipated Defender Puissance will be the main attraction in the Main Arena on Saturday evening, while the Rolex Grand Prix of Ireland, part of the Rolex Series, will the the final international event in the Main Arena on Sunday, 18 August, 2024, the final day of the 2024 Dublin Horse Show.

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The runner-up spot went to Niamh McEvoy and Templepatrick Welcome Limmerick – stopping the timers in 53.46 seconds.

Derry’s Daniel Coyle and Lena VDL were also clear in a slightly slower time of  54.53 seconds – good enough for third place.

The Minerva Stakes by LHK Insurance was the second International class in the Main Arena on Wednesday. This class went the way of Belgium through Emilie Conter and Ocean Quality. Their clear round in 56.42 was unbeatable.

Julien Gonin of France, riding Estrella De La Batia, claimed the second spot, with a clear round in 57.91 seconds.

Best of the Irish combinations in this class was Olympian Cian O’Connor, who took the third position with Fox Chapel – they went clear in 58.15 seconds.

There will be 15 international classes throughout the five days, including Friday’s Underwriting Exchange Nations Cup of Ireland for the award of the Aga Khan Trophy.

The highly anticipated Defender Puissance will be the main attraction in the Main Arena on Saturday evening, while the Rolex Grand Prix of Ireland, part of the Rolex Series, will the the final international event in the Main Arena on Sunday, 18 August, 2024, the final day of the 2024 Dublin Horse Show.

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With five of the 28 starters going through to a jump-off, Sally Goding and Spring Willow set the pace with a clear in 40.51seconds.

Three poles fell for Gemma Ellison with Helsinki VDL, before the 2009 winner Laura Renwick and Iron Lady Van De Kranenburg knocked almost 2 seconds off the lead time.

Allana Clutterbuck and Vykinbay then had a fence down, leaving Galway’s Jessica Burke to chase the top prize.

First Queen Elizabeth II Cup Win

The Irish rider took 0.83 seconds off Laura Renwick’s time to land the Queen Elizabeth II Cup for the first time.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet to be honest!” said a delighted Jessica. “When you look back on all the days I spent at home watching Hickstead on the TV, you grow up dreaming of things like this, so to put my name on the trophy is very special.”

Former maths teacher Burke moved to England from her native Galway five years ago to ride for the Arion Stud in Hampshire. She immediately made an impact in the sport, winning her first international Grand Prix soon after making the move across the water.

The Horse of a Lifetime

With Liam Nicholas’ 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse Express Trend, Jessica has gone on to have five-star success and represented Ireland on Nations Cup teams. The pair were also the winners of the LeMieux All-England Grand Prix at Hickstead’s September Tour in 2023.

“He is amazing, I don’t really have the words for him. He is the horse of a lifetime for me, he’s changed my life in a lot of ways and taught me some good lessons, so to win this with him is really special,” she added.

Jessica now has her sights set on a new Hickstead ambition – to be selected for the Irish team for the Agria Nations Cup of Great Britain. “I definitely want to jump on the team next year – that’s the next target for sure. It’s an amazing arena and an amazing show,” she said.

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Jordan Coyle, who claimed a victory earlier in the day in the CSI2* Big Tour 1.45m class, Coyle was on the hunt for another win.

Riding full speed across the grass arena, he stopped the clock at 65.45 seconds, taking the lead with his 13 year old bay gelding For Gold. When asked about his win, Coyle explained that he had a good feeling in the arena, saying:

“It’s always nice to win. I think he jumped very well today.” He went on to say, “It’s my first time competing in Europe other than the Dublin Horse Show. It’s really fantastic here. I would like to win all the classes this weekend. I actually have some very good horses here. So fingers crossed!”

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Canadian course designer Peter Grant set the track for the evening’s competition, where 15 horse-and-rider combinations from an international field jumped clear in the opening round.

The jump-off came down to a battle between Coyle and American Aaron Vale, who each qualified their two mounts for the short course.

In the end, it was Coyle and Farrel that stopped the clock in an unbeatable 37.24 seconds to take the victory.

Vale was runner-up with Obi Wan in 38.07 seconds, with Coyle also taking third with 14-year-old Quintin, in a time of 38.52 seconds, while Vale claimed fourth with Prescott in 39.74 seconds.

Winning rider Daniel Coyle said:

“On Farrel, you can turn on half a stride. He’s an amazing horse to turn back to a vertical. He’s very handy. Turning back so tight to the second to last jump, that’s all to do with the horse there. Aaron [Vale] would have done the same thing. We both took risks, but at the end it comes back to the horse and if you can nail it

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On Saturday evening Darragh Kenny and the 11-year-old bay gelding Eddy Blue claimed victory in the 1.50m $78,000 Hampton Classic Speed Cup, jumping clear in 69.27 seconds. USA’s McLain Ward took second place in a time of 69.68 seconds, while Ireland’s Conor Swail was third with Vital Chance de la Roque.

The combination had taken the runner-up spot in the 1.45m Speed Stakes on Thursday. They jumped a foot-perfect clear round to stop the clock in 31.95 seconds, just behind Rene Dittmer in 31.18 seconds.

In Sunday’s 1.60m CSI5* Grand Prix Kenny was seventh with Chic Chic, while in the 1.45m CSI2* Grand Prix four Irish riders finished inside the top six. Conor Swail took the runner-up spot behind Nayel Nasser for Egypt. Riding the 16-year-old gelding Count Me In, Swail  and Count Me In were double clear to finish less than a second behind Nasser.

Irish rider Philip McGuane completed the podium, riding the nine-year-old mare Orphea HQ; Jonathan Corrigan was fifth with the nine-year-old mare Oaky Flandria, while Conor O’Regan and Mendini DR came home in sixth place.

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Michael Blake’s team of Michael Duffy, Trevor Breen, Shane Sweetnam and Eoin McMahon headed into the team final with less than a time fault separating the top four nations.

Germany held the lead following the first two days of jumping on a score of 9.31, Sweden were second on 9.51 and Switzerland next on 9.92. The Irish team was just outside of the top three on 10.00 with over a fence in hand ahead of Austria in fifth place.

Clear for Michael Duffy and Cinca 3

Galway’s Michael Duffy was first into the arena for Ireland, riding the 14-year-old grey mare Cinca 3. This combination had jumped two clear rounds on Wednesday and Thursday.

This excellent form continued as they again went clear to give Ireland a brilliant start.

Germany’s first line rider Marcus Ehning withdrew from competition, while the final fence fell for Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann. A clear round from Steve Guerdat got Switzerland off to a strong start.

Trevor Breen and Highland President

Trevor Breen was next in for Ireland with Highland President. The Tipperary rider and the 11-year-old gelding were unlucky to roll the final part of the combination, but the result was enough to help move Ireland up to third spot overall.

At the half way stage Ireland were in bronze medal position as Germany dropped to fourth following a fence down for Philipp Weishaupt.

Sweden moved to top spot with a clear from Wilma Hellström, while Switzerland held second though they had two fences down from Bryan Balsiger.

Four faults for Shane Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz

Cork’s Shane Sweetnam and the Irish Sport Horse James Kann Cruz were unlucky to add four faults as Sweden extended their lead with a Jens Fredricson clear.

Despite the four faults from Sweetnam, Ireland actually moved into the silver medal position on a score of 14. Switzerland’s third rider, Edouard Schmitz, had three fences down, forcing them to count Balsiger’s eight faults and putting the Swiss on a team score of 17.92.

Ireland move into silver medal position

Tipperary’s Eoin McMahon and the 11-year-old grey mare Mila had one fence down, leaving Ireland on 18 faults in third place.

Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs needed to jump clear to hold onto the silver medal, but eight faults from the Swiss saw Michael Blake’s Ireland side move up to second.

Sweden claimed the gold medal and European title on a team score of 9.51, with three of their four riders jumping clear. Ireland took silver with Austria third, ahead of Germany in fourth and Spain in fifth.

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In an exceptional display by the pre-competition favourites and first-ever winners of the famous trophy in 1926, they produced two double clear rounds, and six clear rounds in total, as they ended the two-round Nations Cup on a zero score.

Last year’s winners, Ireland, who had been given a 20% win chance by Equiratings this morning, finished as runners-up on 12 faults in their attempt to successfully defend their title. The home nation has a total of three clear rounds during the class, and their anchor Shane Sweetnam and James Khan Cruz did not jump as it would not have changed their overall finishing position.

The 2018 winners Mexico took the final position on the podium on 16 faults, followed by France on 20, Belgium on 21, The Netherlands on 24, Spain on 28 and Britain on a final score of 57 faults.

Round One

Ireland ended the opening round of the Longines FEI Nations Cup with 8 faults, the same score as 27-time Aga Khan Trophy winners Britain, and France, with the favourites Switzerland – given a 25% win chance by Equiratings – holding a two-fence lead on a zero score.

Irish pathfinder and one of two Aga Khan Trophy debutants, Michael Duffy and Cinca had four faults at the water as did the second-line combination of the other first-timer on the Aga Khan team Mikey Pender and HHS Calais.

Cian O’Connor, the rider with most Aga Khan starts and podium finishes in the last 10 editions, and Eve d’Ouilly, were the third Irish combination into the Main Arena. They also had four faults, this time knocking a pole in the final part of the triple combination.

Kanturk’s Shane Sweetnam and the Irish Sport Horse James Kann Cruz brought Michael Blake’s side back into contention with a clear round in front of a packed and nervous crowd.

Switzerland achieved three clear rounds through Steve Guerdat (Venard de Cerisy), Martin Fuchs (Leone Jei) and Edouard Schmitz (Garmin Van’T Naastveldhof), meaning their four faults score from Bryan Balsiger and Chelsea Z became their discard score.

The water caused some problems during the opening round with a total of five combinations incurring faults there. The penultimate fence, the Telecom post boxes with a Liverpool underneath, saw nine participants knock a pole.

Britain and France joined Ireland in joint-second place at the end of the first round – with the three teams on 8 faults.

Belgium and Spain were next, a fence behind, with Mexico on 16 faults and The Netherlands bringing up the rear on 20 faults.

Round Two

The Swiss took up where they had ended the first round with each of their first three combinations all going clear. Steve Guerdat and Venard De Cerisy as well as Martin Fuchs and Leone JEI achieved exceptional double clear rounds, while second-line rider Bryan Balsiger and Chelsea Z, who faulted in the first round, went better at his second attempt.

With Fuchs’ second clear the Swiss were uncatchable, meaning their final-line rider Edouard Schmitz didn’t jump.

Course builder Alan Wade later described it as “poetry in motion watching them jump clear after clear.”

Michael Duffy and Cinca got Ireland off to the best possible start in the second round, going clear in 70.96 seconds. Mikey Pender and HHS Calais matched their four-fault first round, before Cian O’Connor riding Eve D’Ouilly produced a faultless round.

Shane Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz then withdrew as they were safe in the runners-up position, and unable to catch chef d’équipe Michel Sorg’s side.

Switzerland have won the Aga Khan Cup at the RDS, while Ireland finished as the runners-up with Mexico in third place. #RTEsport pic.twitter.com/5cLLC3ZUmR

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 11, 2023

“It’s very special to stand on the podium; it’s an amazing arena,” admitted Sorg. “It’s a dream of everybody to win this Aga Khan Trophy. It’s been a while.”

Statistical information kindly provided by Equiratings.

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