Blake’s team line up for ‘friendly’ fire in Florida

Michael Blake will be hoping for an improved placing when he takes charge of the Irish showjumping team for his second outing as manager this weekend. His team started brilliantly but dwindled to a sixth-place finish two weeks back in the Nations Cup of America at Deeridge Farms in Wellington, Florida, near to where this second contest is being staged at Palm Beach International Equestrian Centre, also in Wellington.

The Irish boss will be gunning for a repeat of his 2017 coup at this event when, acting as interim manager before the appointment of Rodrigo Pessoa, he saw his team win their second of two early season nations cups. That team comprised Shane Sweetnam, Cian O’Connor, Paul O’Shea and Conor Swail, two of whom have been named in the squad for this weekend’s event. Sweetnam and O’Shea are present again, with the other riders involved being Darragh Kenny, David Blake and Billy Twomey.