Shane Sweetnam got “two new toys” for Christmas, Buckle Up and Cobolt, but when it comes to fun, Chaqui Z remains the top plaything.

Show jumper Richie Moloney is considering a shot at the World Cup final following his qualifier victory in North Salem, New York on Sunday.

Ireland’s dominance of the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show came to end in yesterday’s feature €200,000 Longines Grand Prix, courtesy of American Kent Farrington.

Barry Hearn is the man who had everyone going snooker loopy in the eighties as television coverage of the sport boomed on the back of his stable of star players such as Steve Davis.

Kevin Babington rounded off a brilliant weekend for Irish show jumping when second in the $150,000 Ocala Grand Prix in Florida, last night.

Irish riders failed to make an impression in Saturday’s $372,000 World Cup grand prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, but Darragh Kenny and Conor Swail scored a couple of consolation prizes in the run-up.

Equestrian: "It’s a bit cold for Florida, but it’s all relative, I suppose," joked Conor Swail yesterday.

Show jumper Conor Swail notched up his third win in a fortnight in Florida on Sunday, taking top prize in the $34,000 Suncast Classic at the Winter Equestrian Festival.

A beaming British show jumping manager Rob Hoekstra declared “we love this trophy” after his team yesterday claimed the famed ‘Aga Khan’ at the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show.

The rising star of Irish show jumping, Bertram Allen, shone brightly again yesterday when taking the individual silver medal at the Junior European Show Jumping Championships in Vejer de la Frontera, Spain.

The Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida opened last week with a double for Shane Sweetnam, and Wednesday saw the Corkman join Conor Swail and Darragh Kenny to kick off week two with a hat-trick of Irish wins.

Ireland’s show jumpers joined the Netherlands, Germany, the US, Belgium and Portugal in failing to make the second round of the five-star Promotional League Nations Cup at Gijon, Spain, on Saturday.

Ireland eventing high performance manager Ginny Elliot yesterday stressed the importance of Barbury Horse Trials as she makes her final deliberations regarding her Olympic selection.

While failing to make the jump-off in Saturday’s $500,000 FTI Consulting Grand Prix in Florida, show jumpers Conor Swail and Cian O’Connor were delighted with the performances of their horses, after they finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

CO DOWN show jumpers Conor Swail and Dermott Lennon continued to impact at the Toronto World Cup show in Canada, placing third and fourth, respectively, in Saturday’s Ricoh Big Ben Challenge.

IT may be a long-shot, but Conor Swail feels he is justified in having one eye on the two individual Olympic places up for grabs after placing second with Lansdowne in the World Cup contest in Toronto, Canada, on Wednesday night.

Former winner Ken Doherty blazed his way through to the first round of the Betfred.com World Championship and revealed Steve Davis was inspiring him to turn his career around.

Robert Milkins qualified for today’s first round proper of the China Open, upsetting Joe Swail with a 5-4 victory.

Northern Ireland's Joe Swail has been beaten in his first ranking-event final at the Welsh Open.

Joe Swail will take a two-frame lead over Ali Carter into tonight’s deciding session of the Welsh Open.

Joe Swail overcame an injured arm to battle his way through a four-and-a-half-hour marathon and beat Stephen Maguire to reach the semi-finals of the Welsh Open in Newport.

Irish rider Denis Lynch has protested his innocence as his hopes of winning an Olympic medal were ended tonight after being forced to withdraw from the individual showjumping final when his horse Lantinus tested positive for a banned substance.

CONOR SWAIL travels to Millstreet this week for its annual horse show hoping he can continue the run of form that has seen him challenge for the Citroen ShowjumpingIreland Premier Series.

If first impressions count, the Hong Kong Jockey Club is off to a good start as far as Olympic event rider Captain Geoff Curran is concerned.

Northern Ireland's Joe Swail is out of the World Snooker Championship after a final frame thriller against Liang Wenbo last night.

Northern Ireland’s Joe Swail cut his overnight deficit in half to boost his chances of a Crucible quarter-final in the 888.com World Championship.

Australia’s Neil Robertson was today hoping to pull off the most amazing comeback in snooker history in the 888.com World Championship in Sheffield.

China’s Liang Wenbo reproduced the form which accounted for former champion Ken Doherty to take an early lead in his second round clash with Joe Swail at the 888.com World Championship today.

Stephen Hendry was today battling to avoid a second first-round exit in three years from the 888.com World Championships in Sheffield.

Former world champions Peter Ebdon and Mark Williams are through to the last-16 stage of the Honghe Industrial China Open.

KEN DOHERTY and John Higgins will contest the first of the Malta Cup semi-finals.

Stephen Hendry’s bid to equal Steve Davis’ record of six Maplin UK Championship titles hangs by a thread after a disastrous opening session against Mark Allen at Telford.

Ireland's Conor Swail cranked up the pressure at the five star show in Paris, France on Friday night with yet another top five placing.

Australian ace Neil Robertson had plenty to smile about after powering his way into the last 16 stage of the Northern Ireland Trophy today.

Ronnie O’Sullivan became the first player through to the semi-finals of this year’s Royal London Watches Grand Prix today.

CO. DOWN -born Conor Swail walked away with the Grand Prix trophy at the five-star show in Gijon, Spain tonight after two fault-free rounds on the nine year-old Dutch-bred ‘Rivaal’.

IRELAND were triumphant on the last day (Sunday) of the four-star show in Drammen, Norway, with victory in both the Norway Nations' Cup and the Drammen Grand Prix.

Ireland have won the Norway Nations' Cup and the Drammen Grand Prix on the last day of the four-star show in Drammen, Norway.

A jubilant Chef d'Equipe Tommy Brennan announced Ireland's triumph in the Austrian Nations' Cup in Linz this afternoon when the team of Conor Swail, Commandant Gerry Flynn, Ryan Crumley and Shane Breen proved unstoppable in both rounds, finishing on 12 faults, with Italy the nearest challengers on 24 faults.

Barry Hawkins recorded the first whitewash at the Honghe Industrial China Open today and made sure of his place in this year’s quarter-finals.

KEN DOHERTY secured his passage through to the last 16 of the Welsh Open at the Newport Centre yesterday with a 5-3 victory over Belfast’s Joe Swail.

Joe Delaney, Joe Swail and Gerard Greene are the Irish players in action on Day One of the Welsh Open.