Equestrian: Big guns back in action for German showpiece

The annual German equestrian festival at Aachen takes centre stage this week with Ireland contesting the showjumping nations cup and dressage rider Judy Reynolds making a long-awaited return to action with her Olympic horse Vancouver K, writes Mike Dunne

Sunday’s second placing in the Swedish nations cup at Falsterbo has taken some pressure off Rodrigo Pessoa’s Irish showjumping team. With two more league fixtures to come (Hickstead and Dublin), the 90 points earned for that latest outing almost certainly secures Ireland’s place in the top nations cup division for next season and puts them in a good position to qualifying for the final in October.