Irish pick up vital points

DESPITE racking up 41 faults, Ireland’s show jumpers placed second to France in the nations cup at Zagreb yesterday.

The result saw them extend their lead in the FEI Nations Cup Series to 86 points, 14 more than second-placed Denmark and, with just two rounds remaining, Ireland look set to replace France in the Samsung Super League.

Yesterday’s high scores reflected the difficult conditions brought about by poor weather in Croatia, with team manager Robert Splaine saying: “The ground conditions were a huge factor here. We had a storm last night and one today and two of our horses pulled shoes in the first round. The score sheet gives some indication of just how difficult it was for all the teams involved, but I’m happy that we have added three vital points to our overall Nations' Cup League score.”

Pathfinder Edward Doyle got the Irish off to a good start with a clear on Utopia Vi’T Hoogveld, but scored eight in round two. Thomas Ryan and Urleven van de Helle had scores of four and eight, while German-based Denis Lynch — a recent critic of Splaine’s team selections — had two fences down in round one, adding a further 16 faults in round two. Niall Talbot and Tequi D’I CH opened with five and sat out round two.

Meanwhile, the FEI yesterday failed to release information on the results of tests carried on the B sample taken from Jessica Kürten’s horse Castle Forbes Maike.

The B sample was tested last Tuesday in Paris and the lawyer for the German-based Antrim woman strongly criticised the FEI after Kürten’s representative was barred from witnessing the analysis. The FEI subsequently said it was within its rights to do so.

Kürten was competing in La Baule, France, in May and it is believed the A sample taken from the mare indicated a medication violation on the lower end of the scale.

The FEI also revealed on its website that another horse ridden by an Irish rider, Eliza Preston, also failed a drug test. Soft Touch was found to have phenylbutazone, oxyphenbutazone, 4-methylaminoantipyrine and N-butylscopolammonium in its system when competing at Ballygraffan horse trials in April of this year. The case is still under investigation.