THE Irish have certainly been front and centre of FEI World Cup competitions over recent weeks, with an incredible run of success on both sides of the Atlantic. Co Down’s Conor Swail continued that winning streak at the weekend, when he claimed victory with Count Me In in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup North American League fifth leg in Las Vegas (USA) on Saturday, held in the unique venue of the South Point Hotel and Casino.

German course builder Olar Petersen, Jr.’s first round track provided a challenge for the 28-strong field – just six managed to secure a place in the jump-off. In fact, there were no clear rounds until the 18th combination, Katie Laurie (AUS) and her home-bred Django II, kept all the poles intact. Five others made it through to the jump-off, all coming from the final eight riders. These included Swail and his student Vanessa Mannix (CAN). Then, in the jump-off, clear rounds proved elusive, until Swail and Count Me In produced a clear round in a time of 38.28 seconds.

“I’m lucky that Crosby [Count Me In] is very quick. Regardless, he is very careful. I thought I would just stick to the plan and have a nice, tidy round, and it worked out very well for me,” a delighted Swail said following his winning round.

The only other double clear in the class came from Mannix, who finished second with Lehar (39.49), with Jill Humphrey (USA) finishing third with Chromatic BF (4/39.18).

Mannix, who has been training with Swail and James Chawke (IRL) since 2007, had finished fourth the previous week in Toronto (CAN) with Carmela Z.

“We’re very good friends. Vanessa has been riding great [on the North American League] for a number of years now,” Swail said. “She’s got a nice string of horses at the moment, and it’s fantastic to see her on the podium as well.”

Despite being top of the standings for the past couple of seasons, Swail hadn’t finished on the podium of a World Cup event for the first four legs of the 2023-24 season. He was thrilled with his mount, 16-year-old Count Me In at the weekend, as earlier in the year he felt the horse wasn’t at his most confident, but he now seems to be back to his jumping best.

“This year has been a little up-and-down for him. Then we went through a little period where he wasn’t comfortable jumping the bigger fences, so we took a step back,” Swail said. “[To-night], he felt as good as he ever has, so I’m really delighted.

“The horse owes me nothing. I think he’s the best horse I’ve ever ridden. He brought me to the World Cup Finals. I won at Dublin. He’s brought me incredible days and basically brought me to the top 10 in the world. If he didn’t want to jump any more, that’s totally fine with me. But thankfully he’s feeling really good again.”

Conor Swail and the 16-year-old gelding Count Me In won the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup North American League fifth leg in Las Vegas (USA) \ FEI/Andrew Ryback Photography

Superb form

Irish Horse Board Director General, Alison Corbally said: “Irish horses and riders have been in superb form across the World Cup qualifiers so far in 2023, with Sligo’s Richard Howley scoring a double of wins in Europe, Robert Blanchette winning the opening North American leg in Sacramento (USA), while Shane Sweetnam scored his first ever World Cup win earlier this month in Kentucky (USA) with the Irish-bred James Kann Cruz (ISH). Many congratulations to Conor Swail on his latest win in Las Vegas. Count Me In has been such a brilliant horse and it’s fantastic to see him still at the top of his game at 16 years old.”

Swail’s win has catapulted him to second position in the North American League standings with 30 points. Daniel Bluman (ISR) leads the standings with 43 points, while Mannix sits third (also on 30 points). The North American League continues in Fort Worth (USA) on December 16th, 2023.

Swail and Count Me In had already recorded a superb win in the $39,000 CSI4*-W 1.50m Las Vegas National ‘All In’ Speed Classic. Their clear round in 60.01 seconds saw the pair finish just ahead of Charlotte Jacobs (USA), who took runner-up spot with Rincoola Milsean (ISH), bred in Co Longford by the late Harold McGahern.

Swail had also placed third with Vital Chance de la Roque in the $15,000 FEI CSI4*1.45m LVN Lucky Sevens’ Power and Speed Stake class, while another Irishman, James Chawke rode One Edition into third in the $8,000 Las Vegas National FEI CSI4* 1.35m ‘Three of a Kind’ Speed Classic and the pair also placed sixth in the $15,000 FEI CSI4* 1.35m Las Vegas National ‘Royal Flush’ Jump Off Classic.