Splaine points to strategy as reason for no show in Rotterdam

It’s been 15 years since an Irish team won the nations cup at Rotterdam and it’s guaranteed to be 16, as Ireland will not be represented today.

It is the second show of the eight Furusiyya Series nations cups in Europe Division One that Ireland will miss after Rome, plus there will be no team at the Swedish leg in Falsterbo, and Hickstead, England.

Ireland show jumping manager Robert Splaine said it was part of a strategy and fundamental to this was the timing, in particular, of three of Ireland’s four point-gaining nations cups contests: Lummen, Belgium (April 30), La Baule, France (May 15), and St Gallen, Switzerland (June 5), with Rome sandwiched in on May 22. Ireland’s next outing is at Dublin Horse Show in August.