Irish riders made their mark on two and three-star events in the US and Europe today, while Ireland’s Nations’ Cup team for Friday’s competition in Morocco was named.

Darragh Kenny kicked off the action with a first and second place in the 1m45 ranking class at Vilamoura in Portugal, riding Catuso into first and positioning Fixdesign Funke Van ‘T Heike a sixth of a second behind in the runner-up slot.

At the popular Horse of the Year Show in Birmingham, England, Anthony Condon claimed third with Balzac in the 1m45 two-phase class won by Britain’s Joe Whitaker and Lavarno, and then took a fifth on Chinook in the 1m50 Welcome speed class, which was won by Belgium’s Karel Cox and Cayen van het Hobos. Meath’s Cian O’Connor also took a seventh place in the speed class aboard Super Sox.

Meanwhile, over at the three-star Split Rock show in Lexington, Kentucky, Derry’s Daniel Coyle repeated Darragh Kenny’s earlier feat by taking the top two places in the Speed Cup, placing Tienna in first and Fortis Fortuna a tenth of a second behind.

Afterwards Coyle said: “Tienna is just eight years old and has so far only jumped a handful of 1m45 classes. I knew I’d had a good round, everything was coming up easy for me. I couldn’t be happier with both horses today.”

The Irish Nations’ Cup team to contest the Nations’ Cup in Rabat, Morocco, was named tonight by team manager Lt Col Tom Freyne. The Irish line-up is:

Capt. Geoff Curran with Ringwood Glen
Lt. David Power with Dollanstown
Richard Howley with Chinook
Marion Hughes with Can Ya Makan

Jack Burns