Richard Howley rises to the occasion

Ireland’s show jumping manager Rodrigo Pessoa was understandably disappointed after last Friday’s seventh-place finish in the five-star Nations Cup at St Gallen in Switzerland, even though it was one of the dispensable ones in his calendar.

None of the team did particularly badly, but there were no clear rounds — the first time that’s happened under his watch. “Today was a tough day but this happens in sport,” he said. “We had some good rounds but just couldn’t get that clear. We will take the positives from this, learn from our mistakes and move on.”

One of the team, Richard Howley, moved on quite nicely just two days later in the Grand Prix at the Swiss venue. Riding his Nations Cup mount Chinook, the Sligo rider qualified for the jump-off and took the lead when fourth to go with a stunning round in a time that eight riders coming after him could not match. Only last-to-jump Bertram Allen denied Howley the biggest win of his career by getting Hector van d’Abdijhoeve home intact almost a second faster. Still, second place in such an event speaks volumes about Howley and Chinook’s emergence on the big stage. “It’s been an unbelievable few weeks,” he said afterwards. “It’s very difficult for me to compete at these five-star shows unless I am part of the Irish team. I’m delighted to finish second in only my second-ever five-star Grand Prix.”