Ireland’s show jumpers pull off surprise Hickstead win

With a couple of last-place finishes this season and lying bottom of the FEI Top League, Ireland’s show jumpers pulled off a surprise yesterday with victory in the nations cup in Hickstead, England.

It was a timely boost ahead of the Olympics and was particularly notable for Richie Moloney, who marked his league debut with a superb double clear, describing the result as “a dream come true — it can’t get much better really”.

The win saw Ireland move off the bottom of the league, on 29 points, just 0.5 ahead of Belgium, but with a similar margin separating manager Robert Splaine’s charges from the Netherlands in third-last place.