Taylor Vard’s team of Thomas Ryan, Jessica Burke, Kevin Gallagher and Jenny Rankin finished the two rounds of jumping with just four faults.

Tipperary’s Ryan with Springfield 21 and Sligo’s  Gallagher with Ballypatrick Flamenco (ISH) both jumped foot-perfect double clear rounds.

Galway’s Jessica Burke with Namamia and Tyrone’s Jenny Rankin with Carmela Z were also clear in the first round.

A jump-off was needed to decide the winners with Belgium coming out on top ahead of Spain in second and Ireland in third.

The remaining qualifying places for the EEF Nations Cup Final went to Sweden and Portugal.

The Longines EEF Series is a Show Jumping Nations Cup circuit created by the European Equestrian Federation which replaced the FEI Nations Cup Europe Division 2.

Ireland is a Europe Division 1 nation but can field teams in selected EEF Series rounds.

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The Dutch city was Ireland’s second of four opportunities to gain points in Europe’s top division. The result moves Ireland up to fifth place on the league table with 150 points. They are well-positioned in the race to see which teams will qualify for September’s Nations Cup World Final in Barcelona.

Ireland were drawn first to jump in the opening round and Daniel Coyle with Legacy was the pathfinder. The Derry man and Legacy came home clear and well inside the time.

Denis Lynch and Brooklyn Heightsstrom looked to be heading for another Irish clear when second to go. They picked up four faults, however, at the very last double.

Cashel’s Trevor Breen was third in with Highland President. They were also clear towards the end of their round but had a fence down on the troublesome last line to finish on four faults.

Shane Sweetnam was last to go for Ireland in the first round with The Irish Sport Horse James Kann Cruz. The combination delivered a brilliant clear round to keep Ireland well in the hunt. Ireland finished the first round in equal second as one of four teams on a four fault score. The home team from The Netherlands held the lead on zero.

Round Two

Daniel Coyle produced his second brilliant clear at the start of the second round to keep the pressure on the leaders.

Denis Lynch and Brooklyn Heights repeated their four fault score from the first round. It looked as though Trevor Breen was going to deliver a clear second round with Highland President but the very last fence fell after a slight rub to leave them with four faults.

Shane Sweetnam and the nine-year-old James Kann Cruz (ISH) completed a hugely impressive double clear round as last to go for Ireland. This left Ireland on a final score of eight faults.

The result hung in the balance until the very last horse left the arena, but it was the Dutch team that took victory. They were the only team to finish on a zero score. France finished second on the same score as Ireland but in a slightly faster time.

EEF Nations Cup

In Deauville, France, Taylor Vard’s Irish team of Thomas Ryan, Jessica Burke, Kevin Gallagher and Jenny Rankin took third place overall in the three-star Longines EEF Nations Cup semi-final.

The result means Ireland comfortably qualify for the Longines EEF Nations Cup Final in September in Warsaw.

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A very close competition saw Ireland among five teams sharing the lead on a zero score following the first round.

Irish Chef d’Equipe Taylor Vard saw three clear rounds from his opening three riders. Tipperary’s Thomas Ryan (Springfield 21), Cork’s Jeremy Sweetnam (Brown Star Z) and Wexford’s Harry Allen (Over Lux (ISH) all jumped clear. That meant Ireland’s last combination, Waterford’s Comdt Geoff Curran with Glengarra Wood (ISH), didn’t need to jump in the opening round.

Ryan and Sweetnam completed double clear rounds second time out. Bertram Allen came home with four faults picked up at the water. As the competition came down to the last line riders, Ireland, Brazil and Belgium were the three teams that could finish on a zero score.

Brazil were to finish on a final score of one time fault. Ireland’s Geoff Curran picked up four faults near the end of his round, and Belgium finished on the same score.

Brazil took the victory with Ireland second as the fastest of the teams that finished on four faults. Third place went to Belgium.

Ireland will be in five-star Longines FEI Nations Cup action at Sopot in Poland this weekend.

The competition will be shown live on the RTÉ News Channel from 1pm on Sunday afternoon.

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