MICHAEL Blake was a happy man in Vancouver, Canada, last Sunday when, for the second time in the space of a week, his team won a five-star Nations Cup, this time on the other side of the world.

Ireland were not competing for points in the North and Central America and Caribbean division of the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup, but that hasn’t stopped their ambition at the venue in recent years, winning three of the last four renewals of the competition.

Led by Blake, the quartet of Shane Sweetnam (James Kann Cruz (ISH)), Daniel Coyle (Gisborne VDL), David Blake (Claude) and Conor Swail (Nadal Hero & DB) completed the two rounds of competition over Peter Holmes’ 1.60m track with just four penalties on their scorecard. Canada finished second, just a fence behind them with eight penalties—followed by the USA on 28 penalties.

“It was sweet victory for us today, because we knew Canada had a really strong team, and we knew we would have to have a really strong team, or else we couldn’t beat them. The luck went our way, and it all worked out, Blake commented afterwards.

It was a competition with the host nation the whole way through, and they were tied at the break on four faults. Cork native Sweetnam was the pathfinder for Ireland aboard the Gizmo Partners’ Irish Sport Horse gelding James Kann Cruz, a 10-year-old gelding by Kannan who was bred by Patrick Connolly in Co Galway. A clear round machine, he got the team off to the perfect start with a fault-free round.

Derry’s Daniel Coyle followed with Ariel Grange’s 12-year-old grey stallion Gisborne VDL (VDL Zirocco Blue x Goodtimes) and they ended their first round with a disappointing eight faults. Next to go was Co Clare’s David Blake with Pine Hollow Farm’s 11-year-old gelding Claude (Captain Jack x Cefalo) and the pair finished with four faults.

A clear round was needed to keep up to the pace with Canada and the world number eight, Co Down’s Conor Swail, duly delivered with the 10-year-old chesnut stallion Nadal Hero & DB (Kannan x Polydor) who is owned by Ireland’s Mannon Farm.

Flawless

In the second round, Ireland were flawless. Sweetnam set the tone for the team and was one of just two combinations to jump double-clear on the day; Canada’s Erynn Ballard was also double-clear with her mount Gakhir.

After Tiffany Foster had four faults with Hamilton, Mario Deslauriers (Emerson) kept the home nation on even ground with Ireland after he jumped clear in the second round. Both Coyle and Blake corrected their mistakes from round one and produced foot-perfect clears.

That left it up to Amy Millar (Truman) to keep the Canadians in the running, as a clear round would send Canada and Ireland to a jump-off. But Canada’s anchor pair saw a front rail of the oxer fall at fence six. That meant Conor Swail did not need to start for the second round and saved his young horse for another day.

Speaking to the media after the win, the team were in great form. Coyle said: “I guess we were maybe a little casual in the first round. I’m also just getting to know the horse. I have big plans for him in the future. He’s a different kind of animal, and I’ve got to ride him in the way that’s best for him.

“We all walked the course as a team, and the [other] guys’ numbers and the numbers in my head were not adding up,” Coyle continued. “I thought, ‘I’ll keep doing the right numbers,’ but after I jumped the first round, I said to Michael, ‘I need to do different strides here.’ He said, ‘I don’t care how you do the strides. Just get a clear round!’”

Swail commented: “The first round was a very important round, to keep us where we wanted to be. My horse hasn’t actually jumped much this year, so he’s had to step up very quickly. I’ve been very impressed with him.”

After finishing runner-up in a five-star Grand Prix a week earlier, Sweetnam once again was impressed by James Kann Cruz. “This is a tough sport. It’s difficult, and you’re always putting your best foot forward. You’re trying your best for the team. We have great team spirit, and we wanted to win. This week I tried a new bit and I think it’s the best [James Kann Cruz] has jumped this year.”

The United States finished its season atop the division standings with 280 points, having won in both San Miguel de Allende (MEX) and San Juan Capistrano (USA). Mexico and Canada finished the season with equal points (240) and finish classifications, so a tiebreaker determined the second qualified team for October’s Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Finals. That tie was broken by the number of clear rounds produced by each nation throughout the series; Mexico had seven clear rounds—one more than Canada—securing its place in Barcelona.