IRELAND lie third in the FEI Nations Cup Series and preparations for a shot at Olympic qualification at next month’s European Championships in Madrid are on target, so, all in all, manager Robert Splaine is entitled to be reasonably satisfied.

WHITEHAVEN, Egremont and Gosforth might just as easily have been Quilty, Spanish Point and Mullagh, or maybe Courtown, Ballygarret and Knockbrandon. Or, if the truth be told, any shy, idyllic backwater on this island.