Superb Switzerland foil Ireland's bid to retain Aga Khan Trophy

SECOND SPOT: Cian O'Connor of Ireland on Eve D'Ouilly, left, and Michael Duffy on Cinca 3 after finishing second in the Aga Khan during the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of Ireland international competition during the 2023 Longines FEI Dublin Horse Show at the RDS in Dublin. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

No retention of the Aga Khan Trophy for Ireland as an impeccable Swiss performance took the honours in the FEI Nations Cup at the RDS.

Ireland had to settle for a creditable second-place finish, having been drawn fifth to jump out of the eight teams.

Michael Duffy riding Cinca 3 got Ireland off to a strong start, a toe in the water-jump leaving him on four faults, but certainly a debut round to be proud of.

Another Aga Khan debutant Michael Pender was next in for Ireland riding HHS Calais. The same water jump caused Pender also to finish on four faults.

A member of the winning team last year, and also in 2015, 2012 and 2004, Cian O’Connor was next up, partnering Nicole Walker’s nine-year-old mare Eve D’Ouilly. The third part of the combination was the only pole to fall for O’Connor, leaving Ireland on a team score of eight faults.

A combination who are no stranger to Aga Khan success – Shane Sweetnam and the Irish Sport Horse James Kann Cruz were the anchors for the Irish team. A clear was needed and was duly delivered by the Corkman.

After the first round, the Swiss team held the lead with three clear rounds. Jumping in reverse order in the second round the pressure was on.  

Duffy got Ireland off to an excellent start with a clear round. The fourth fence was the only pole to come down for Kildare’s Pender, but clear rounds from Switzerland’s first two riders extended their lead.

O’Connor went clear to keep the Ireland dream alive. But it wasn’t to be as Switzerland’s third rider jumped clear, leaving them on a team total of zero.

Sweetnam did not jump James Kann Cruz second time around, with High Performance Director Michael Blake having an eye on the European Championships in two weeks’ time in Milan,

“Not the result we wanted," said Blake, "it's hard to retain something like the Aga Khan Trophy. The water played a big part today, which was something I wasn't expecting - maybe it was the red wall in front of it. Michael Duffy's horse seemed to back up a little bit and maybe he overrode it. Then with the others we decided to do one less stride but control became a bit of an issue.

“Normally it wouldn't happen to us but today just didn't go our way."