TIPPERARY show jumper Shane Breen made his presence felt again on day two of the Hickstead Derby meeting, placing second and third in the two main classes.

WITH €475,000 on offer in tomorrow night’s Global Champions Tour opener in Doha, riders will not be lacking in incentive.

JESSICA KÜRTEN justified her favourite’s tag yesterday when she won the €130,000 Longines Grand Prix at the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show.

AN ancient Chinese theory that the number 8 is lucky didn’t totally hold out for the brave Irish in the Aga Khan Trophy which Britain won at the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show yesterday.

There was huge disappointment for Ireland’s show jumpers at finishing second in yesterday’s nations cup at the Fáilte Dublin Horse Show.

PETER CHARLES yesterday rebutted a comment that there is no room for him on the British team, saying his selection, if it came, will be on merit alone.

DOUBLE European show-jumping gold medallist Peter Charles has opted to give up riding for Ireland and to put his name for forward for the British squad.

“IT was a close one!”

SHOW jumper Peter Charles yesterday said he would “rule nothing in, or, nothing out” when asked of speculation he is about to change nationality.

THE International Equestrian Federation (FEI) is to review its policy on riders changing nationality after a Ukrainian team made up of two former Dutch and two former German show jumpers placed fourth in the recent World Equestrian Games in Germany.

AN air of expectation more so than optimism permeated the select group at the Equestrian Federation of Ireland’s (EFI) presentation of its jumping committee last Monday.

ROBERT SPLAINE was yesterday officially installed as the manager to the Irish showjumping team and he said his priorities were to stay in the Samsung Nations Cup Super League and to finish in the top five of September’s World Equestrian games, thus qualifying for the Bejing Olympics.

BRITISH show jumping legend Malcolm Pyrah is one of five candidates in the frame to become the next Irish show jumping team manager.

THE chairman of the implementation group charged with setting up an umbrella body for equestrianism hopes to complete the group’s task by Christmas.

HARRY MARSHALL has put his grievances with the Irish show jumping selectors aside temporarily and declared himself available for the Samsung Nations Cup Super League final in Barcelona in two weeks.

THE vow by a number of riders to never join Cian O’Connor on a nations cup team demonstrates the depth of acrimony felt towards the rider in some quarters.

CIAN O’CONNOR is set to make his first competitive foray abroad since the Olympics and is relishing the prospect.

KEVIN BABINGTON is reserving his firepower until Sunday’s World Cup qualifier in Florida as he bids to book his ticket for the final.

THE showjumping community united in sorrow yesterday as one of the sport’s legends, Paul Darragh, was laid to rest.

EDWARD DOYLE, one of the riders involved in a row with the Show Jumping Association of Ireland (SJAI) over the sacking of Olympic team trainer Eddie Macken, last night said he was disappointed at the lack of official response to a letter outlining their grievances.

BLYTH TAIT kept his cool at a balmy Punchestown yesterday to claim a brace of victories, as Niall Griffin lifted Irish spirits with a third to the former world champion in the feature Olympic-format event.

“ONE of the better ones” was Kevin Babington’s description this week of his superb win in Sunday’s La Baule Grand Prix with the ever-reliable Carling King.

Ireland’s show jumpers finished a disappointing sixth of eight teams in the opening round of the Samsung Nations Cup Super League in La Baule, France, yesterday.

THE announcement of Eddie Macken as Olympic team trainer by the Show Jumping Association of Ireland (SJAI) selectors this week, will, hopefully, bring the curtain down on the unfortunate controversy that had sprung up around the position.

WITH the Olympic year in the offing, chief show jumping selector Peter Leonard is confident Ireland can produce the goods and win the country’s first gold medal in the code.

“HE felt as good as ever,” were the words of Conor Swail yesterday after he won the Dairygold Grand Prix at Millstreet on Windgates King Koal, a horse lucky to be alive.

IT was Ireland über alles in Germany last weekend, when our show jumpers notched up a superb Nations Cup double.

IRELAND won the Aachen Nations Cup in Germany yesterday afternoon — though they had to wait until the competition’s last rider knocked the last fence to claim victory.

AN Irish team that on paper condescended to be weak, tore up the script when it came second in last weekend’s Samsung Super League Nations Cup in Rome.

IT was a case of mixed emotions for the Irish last weekend at the Samsung Super League Nations Cup Show in La Baule, France, where early domination disipated on the final day in the wake of a supreme performance by the host team.

THE Show Jumping Association of Ireland (SJAI) selectors have made the prudent decision to nominate Trevor Coyle ahead of Jessica Kürten for the Gothenburg World Cup Show in Sweden next week.

DERMOTT LENNON and his World Equestrian Games team-mates are, after four months waiting, to receive their prize-money.

ALMOST four months after the World Equestrian Games in Spain concluded, gold medallist Dermott Lennon and other Irish riders have yet to receive their prize money.

IRELAND’S Dermott Lennon scored his first success at the Olympia International Showjumping Championships yesterday, taking the Christmas Cake Accumulator.

DERMOTT LENNON has become the gold standard for Irish showjumping since his imperious performance last Sunday at the World Equestrian Games in Spain.

IRELAND’S Dermott Lennon crowned himself king of the world yesterday, winning the individual title at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain.

THE decision not to send a showjumping team to the cash-rich Spruce Meadows show in Calgary next week was based on the desire to do well at the World Equestrian Games, according to Peter Charles.

IRELAND’S Peter Charles survived a dramatic moment at Hickstead when his hat slipped over his face and he jumped blindfold down the Derby Bank - but still managed to go clear and repeat his 2001 victory in the Bunn Leisure British Jumping Derby with Corrada.

CIAN O'CONNOR produced a performance of courage at Hickstead yesterday as he secured the competition's sole double-clear to take Ireland within a whisker of landing a hat trick in the Samsung Nations Cup.

Irish pair Kevin Babington and Carling King galloped to victory in the Virtual Village British Grand Prix at Hickstead.