THE Irish Show Jumping team of Jessica Burke (Express Trend), Jenny Rankin (Ibiza), Seamus Hughes Kennedy (ESI Rocky) and Francis Derwin (Flexi K), managed by Taylor Vard, finished as runners-up in the 2024 Longines EEF Series Nations Cup Final in Warsaw, Poland last Sunday, after a close contest with eventual winners Italy.

Burke got Ireland off to a great start, jumping clear aboard the Liam Nicholas-bred and owned Express Trend (ISH) (Future Trend) out of Condios Express (ISH) by Condios. Rankin and Ibiza were next to go and they too kept the fences intact.

Hughes Kennedy was in next and incurred an unlucky four faults on what was his senior Nations Cup team debut with ESI Rocky, but anchorman Derwin on Flexi K went clear to put Ireland on a zero score at the halfway point, level with the Italian team, albeit with a time disadvantage.

In the second round, Burke and Express Trend were very unfortunate to finish on four faults at the water. Next in, Rankin and Ibiza had one down for four faults, as the plank dropped at fence nine, the Warsaw jump.

Hughes Kennedy and his Irish Sport Horse jumped their first clear of the day to keep the pressure on the Italians, with their rider Emanuele Camilli incurring eight faults to put Ireland firmly back in the gold medal hunt.

Unfortunately, Derwin and Flexi K had an uncharacteristic eight faults, meaning that a clear round for Piergiorgio Bucci and Hantano would seal the win for Italy. It looked as though that would be the case until the pair knocked the very last fence, which put both teams on a two-round score of eight faults and sent the two nations into a jump-off.

Hughes Kennedy and ESI Rocky were selected to go against the clock for Ireland and they jumped a great clear round in 42.42 seconds. Piergiorgio Bucci and Hantano chased that target and crossed the line clear in 41.73 to secure Italy’s third win in the EEF Series Final. The Irish finished second on a score of eight faults, with Germany in third on 12 faults.

Vard was disappointed yet understandably delighted with his team’s performance, after what has been an excellent campaign in the series, which began in April.

He said: “We’re devastated here, we really are. To come that close after such a brilliant performance is a tough one to take right now, but they were all magnificent and Seamie did an outstanding job in the jump-off.

“We actually could have won it earlier and then it looked like we had lost it before they gave us that lifeline. And Seamie was so fast under massive pressure, but the Italian combination had that bit extra.

“It’s a very young team, and they have performed so well. As I said, we’re very disappointed, but Michael Blake was on the phone immediately after and he was delighted with them all. We had been written off for this in the build-up too – nobody was giving us a chance – and that shows what character this team has and how talented and determined they are.

Rincoola Milsean dominates

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the Harold McGahern-bred 11-year-old gelding Rincoola Milsean (ISH) (Aldatus Z - Rincoola Abu (ISH)[TIH] by Cruising), known as Roy, completed a hat-trick of victories at Traverse City, Michigan in the USA, under American rider Charlotte Jacobs who is trained by Tipperary’s Greg Broderick.

Together, they won Thursday’s $32,000 three-star 1.45m two-phase class, Friday’s $32,000 three-star 1.45m GGT Footing Welcome Stake and, the crescendo, Sunday’s $120,000 1.50m Agero Grand Prix.

“The morning of the show, my husband takes him out on the lunge line to do whatever he wants, and he almost always rolls in the sand,” Jacobs laughed.

“We know if Roy is relaxed, he will roll during his lunge, and then he’s good to go. This morning, he lunged, he rolled and then he won the class.”

Simon McCarthy (Gotcha) and Jordan Coyle (King Kannan GP) were also on form in the US over the weekend, claiming a one-two in the $40,000 four-star 1.45m Winning Round in Saugerties, New York – both Irishmen proving the strength of their partnerships with their respective mounts.