Cian O’Connor was tight-lipped last night as he flew out of Lausanne, Switzerland, following his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a bid to secure a place for the Irish show jumping team in next year’s Olympics.

Dermott Lennon placed second in the World Cup qualifier in Toronto, Canada, a fortnight ago with Loughview Lou Lou.

Cian O’Connor had good reason to describe Good Luck as one of the “most talented” horses in the world after he and the gelding delivered one of only seven clear rounds in the €1.5m Furusiyya Nations Cup Final on Saturday.

Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) has lodged an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding the debacle at last month’s European Championships that saw Cian O’Connor impeded in his round and Ireland denied a place in next year’s Olympics.

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

Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) is confident it has a “valid” case as it prepares to file an appeal to the Federation Equestre International (FEI) Tribunal by today regarding the debacle at the European Championships that saw Cian O’Connor impeded in his round and Ireland denied a place in next year’s Olympics.

The director of show jumping for the Federation Equestre International, Capt John Roche, says he has no memory in his almost three decades with the organisation of a ground jury waiving faults accrued by a rider in a situation similar to that experienced by Cian O’Connor last Friday, writes John Tynan.

Show jumper Cian O’Connor yesterday declared that “the Olympic dream ain’t over yet, by any means”.

Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) is to “exhaust every possible avenue of appeal” after its protest over interference by a steward to Cian O’Connor’s round in the European Show Jumping Championships was last night rejected.

Greg Broderick was basking in the sunshine yesterday at Millstreet International Horse Show... and the fame.

Tipperary’s Denis Lynch (All Star 5) also gets the nod from Ireland manager Robert Splaine.

The Irish team will take to the stage in today’s Furusiyya Series nations cup at the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show aiming to continue some stellar performances by the home contingent.

Ireland eventing manager Nick Turner believes “there’s a lot to look forward to”, as he announced his squad for September’s European Championships at Blair Castle, Scotland.

Kudos is due Horse Sport Ireland for securing Investec as the first corporate sponsor of the Irish show jumping team.

Ireland’s show jumpers finished sixth in the second division nations cup in Lisbon, Portugal, with manager Robert Splaine citing the inexperience of some horses in dealing with the floodlit second round.

Stud owner Mary McCann confirmed yesterday that she had two clones from her deceased stallion Cruising. 

Shane Breen was taking a lead from his horse’s name yesterday as he prepared for the first Chinese leg of the Global Champions Tour.

An experimental Republic of Ireland Under-21 side drew 1-1 with Qatar's Olympic squad in a friendly in Aachen, Germany, on Saturday evening.

Irish show jumpers plied their trade with success on both sides of the Atlantic at the weekend, notching up numerous victories.

Sarah Ennis had no complaints after her rise up the leaderboard saw her place fourth with BLM Diamond Delux yesterday in the feature class at Tattersall’s International Horse Trials.

Ireland show jumping manager Robert Splaine says that as a “pragmatic” manager he had no qualms in allocating the World Cup slot in Geneva to Denis Lynch at the weekend.

Denis Lynch will not be among the show jumpers meeting with Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) personnel in Dublin today, according to his brother Shay, as the governing body prepares to advertise the Ireland manager’s job.

Show jumper Denis Lynch yesterday said he had “learned an incredible amount” about himself and others as a result of the loss of his Olympic place and subsequent dismissal of his appeal by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Denis Lynch’s brother and manager, Shay, has defended the Tipperary show jumper after the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) veterinary report into the disqualification of his horse Lantinus emerged at the weekend.

Show jumper Denis Lynch will not represent Ireland in the Olympics, the Irish Examiner's John Tynan reports.

Show jumper Denis Lynch has been required by Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) to attend a meeting in Dublin today to put his case as to why he should be allowed to participate in the Olympics.

A claim by the president of the European Central Bank that the euro currency is not in crisis has been called “absurd” by Conservative MP Bill Cash.

An 88-year-old man was convicted of murder today for the killing of Dutch civilians during the Second World War as part of a Nazi SS hit squad.

Cian O'Connor chalked up Ireland's second weekend win at the five-star show in Aachen, Germany this morning with a three-fifths of a second victory over British ace John Whitaker in the 'Last Chance' 1m 45 class.

Ireland’s show jumping team manager Robert Splaine is not expecting an easy ride today when his charges line out in the Swedish Nations Cup in Falsterbo.

IRELAND’S show jumpers yesterday scraped into the last round of the team contest at the World Equestrian Games at Aachen, Germany today when placing 10th.

MARIE BURKE, riding Chippison, proved an able replacement for Cian O’Connor yesterday when best of the Irish on the opening day of show jumping at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany.

IRELAND were lying in ninth place of 14 countries last night following the completion of the dressage phase of the eventing competition at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany.

IRELAND’S eventing team coach Lars Christensson yesterday said the riders at this week’s World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany were aiming for the best result in honour of Sherelle Duke, who died tragically last weekend.

SHOWJUMPER Marie Burke hopes her third place in yesterday’s Longines Grand Prix at the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show will earn her a place in Ireland’s World Equestrian Games (WEG) squad.

JESSICA KURTEN’S decision to compete in Russia at the weekend and miss this week’s Dublin Horse Show paid rich dividends as she netted $45,000 in prize money.

MARION HUGHES is hoping that a good result in the nations’ cup at next week’s Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show will alleviate the pressure in the Samsung Super League and allow Ireland to focus fully on the World Equestrian Games.

THE Equestrian Federation of Ireland (EFI) Jumping Committee yesterday came out in support of Irish show jumping team manager Robert Splaine in his dispute with rider Jessica Kürten.

Showjumper Cian O'Connor has confirmed that he and his horse Waterford Crystal will not be competing in next week's Nations Cup event in Aachen, Germany.

The Sligo Weekender newspaper has been honoured with a top world newspaper award in the US.

Geoff Meade