ON the same day that Ireland secured victory in the opening leg of the Longines League Of Nations in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Irish riders totally dominated Saturday night's $300,000 five-star Longines FEI World Cup Grand Prix at Ocala in Florida.

At the finish it was Meath's Cian O'Connor who claimed the winners prize in a competition where the Irish filled all of the top four places.

As Cian O'Connor watched the jump-off unfold in Ocala, he found himself inspired by his Irish teammates.

"When there's so many Irish in the jump-off, and I knew they'd go so hard, it kind of motivated me a little bit to have a proper go," he said.

Five of the seven athletes in the jump-off represented Ireland, and ultimately, they made up the entire podium. O'Connor won the class with Bentley de Sury, crossing the line clear in 36.62 seconds. It was a race to the finish, as he narrowly edged Cork's Shane Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz (ISH, Kannan x Cruising, bred by Patrick Connolly) by two-tenths of a second (36.81s), followed by Derry's Daniel Coyle and Incredible three-hundredths of a second behind (36.84s). Adding to the Irish dominance, O'Connor's student, 20-year-old Tom Wachman from Co Tipperary finished fourth with Tabasco de Toxandria Z.

"Shane had a brilliant round, and I knew Daniel was coming behind [me], so I just did what I thought Bentley could do," O'Connor commented.

The North American League has typically been dominated by Irish riders, with Coyle and Conor Swail leading the league standings in the last three seasons. But heading into Ocala, the Irish had yet to lead a victory lap on the current season. They made up for it in spades.

Sweetnam had set the early target with a nearly flawless round aboard his Paris 2024 Olympics partner, James Kann Cruz (ISH).

"My turn wasn't good enough [between the second and third jump-off fences]...I had a feeling I didn't have enough done," Sweetnam said. "[My horse] jumped great. I'm delighted with him. I can always be a little bit better, but he did his part."

O'Connor managed to forge ahead narrowly, and his smile as he crossed the line hinted that he thought he may have done enough. Still, it was a tense wait through the remainder of the class. Offaly's Darragh Kenny was up on the clock with Eddy Blue when he cut the turn boldly into the combination. Eddy Blue showed off his athleticism by clearing the first element of the double, but he brought down the oxer jumping out leaving them seventh at the finish. That left only Coyle to chase, but he had to change his plan in the final line.

"The plan was to try to do eight [strides] to the last fence, but I had emptied the horse and myself, and I thought, 'Well, I will do something I never do, and I took an extra stride,'" Coyle shared. "I thought, 'If I'm fast enough, I'm fast enough,' and tonight I wasn't.

"If anyone's going to beat you, it might as well be two Irishmen."

O'Connor has only been partnered with "Bentley," a 14-year-old Selle Francais gelding, since autumn, acquiring the ride through his student, Anastasia Nielsen (MON). The partnership was initially meant to be temporary.

"She actually found the horse a little bit strong, and she asked me to ride him for a while, so I rode him from October up until December, and then I decided to buy him," O'Connor shared. "I felt that having an experienced horse like Bentley would be great for me, because it would take the pressure off some of the newer horses and younger horses that I bought and allow me time to develop them. The plan is working out okay."

The night resulted in three Irish riders earning tickets out of the North American League to the upcoming World Cup Finals in Basel (SUI) in April. Kenny, Sweetnam, and Coyle qualify as 'Extra Athletes'.

"The Irish are good all over the world. We punch above our weight, I suppose for a small nation, but [Irish riders] are horsemen, and they want to win, and we all motivate each other," O'Connor said. "Everyone has a relationship. We work together, we discuss the courses together, people are behind the other person doing well, and that kind of culture creates a movement where everyone wants to go well."

Irish Horse Board Director General Alison Corbally said:

"What an amazing weekend for Irish equestrian sport. To win a five-star Nations Cup in the United Arab Emirates and on the same day, fill all of the top four places in a five-star World Cup in the United States shows the incredible strength in-depth of Irish Show Jumping. It was also fantastic to see that Irish-bred horses featured strongly in both results. Congratulations to all of the riders, owners and breeders on a great day for Ireland."

The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final takes place in Basel, Switzerland 1-6 April 2025.

BREEDING

James Kann Cruz (ISH) – 2013 gelding by Kannan out of CSF Telly Cruz by Cruising, bred by Patrick Connolly owned by Gizmo partners LLC. Ridden by Shane Sweetnam.