Irish show jumpers continued their recent run of notable international results today when the team of Shane Breen, David Simpson, Cameron Hanley and Anthony Condon took the bronze medal in the Nations Cup at Gijon in Spain.

One of eight countries to contest the fixture, the Irish struggled for dominance in the first round, which they finished with only one clear round and 12 faults on the board, but, like their fellow-countrymen who won the FEI European Show Jumping Championships at Gothenburg last week, the team rallied remarkably second time out, delivering three more clear rounds to keep the score on 12, enough to beat 13-penalty Canada to third place.

Ireland’s premier performance came from the opening combination of the experienced Shane Breen with the nine year-old stallion Ipswich van de Wolfsakker, who delivered one of only four double clear rounds recorded in the competition.

Other second-round clears came from Cameron Hanley and the eight year-old Quirex and Anthony Condon with the 11 year-old gelding Balzac.

David Simpson and the eight year-old Keoki were the discard score in both rounds.

An in-form French team finished on four faults to take the trophy, while the Netherlands produced just eight faults to claim the silver medal position.

Ireland has already qualified for the Nations Cup Final in Barcelona later this month, and today’s outing under Chef d’Equipe Taylor Vard was a developmental exercise to identify potential new talent for next season.

Jack Burns