O'Connor & Co make it into final showdown
There was a very welcome lack of drama for the Underwriting Exchange Irish Show Jumping Team as they progressed comfortably from today’s qualifying round to secure a place in tomorrow’s Olympic final at the stunning Château de Versailles.
The scores revert to zero with the medals at stake, so today’s action was all about Michael Blake’s squad securing a top ten spot from the 20 competing nations.
And the team of Shane Sweetnam, Daniel Coyle and Cian O’Connor, who is based in Karlswood Stables near Batterstown, did that with ease, their cumulative tally of nine faults getting them through in sixth.
A smooth clear round by Derryman Coyle and the Ariel Grange-owned mare Legacy was the highlight of the day’s for the Green Jackets.
Cork-born Sweetnam was the first-line rider with his Patrick Connolly-bred and Gizmo Partners-owned Irish Sport Horse James Kann Cruz, who had an unlucky poll down early on but was without blemish from there.
Following Coyle’s brilliant clear, O’Connor, the Meath-based Kildare native, only had to avoid disaster on Maurice, the gelding he co-owns with Sarah and Keira Stoute. Given that some of the highest ranked riders on the world had registered huge scores, nothing could be taken for granted but the 2012 Olympic medallist made sure with a steady round of five faults to cement qualification.
Coyle and Legacy have been in electric form all year in five-star Nations Cups and Grands Prix, carrying the momentum from their London Grand Prix triumph last December through to January, when they secured two Longines World Cup triumphs in the space of a week in Leipzig and Amsterdam.
They followed that up with a double clear as Ireland won the Longines Nations Cup in Ocala and returned just four faults from two rounds in the runner-up finish in Rome.
With Coyle now ranked 11th in the Longines world rankings, the Ardmore athlete and his 14-year-old equine partner were expected to produce the goods.
The 30-year-old pilot showed trademark composure in sweltering conditions on his Olympic debut while Legacy never threatened a rail.
“She was magic,” said Coyle of Legacy. “Everything she’s done for me already, she owes me nothing, but when you get to places like this and she gives these performances you’re always left expecting more and expecting more of yourself.
“We’re not here just to compete. We’ve done that before at championships and it doesn’t always go right – it could be one fence from a win, lose or a draw but we’ll be fighting hard. we have a great team and we’re looking forward to tomorrow.
On his Olympic debut, Coyle looked at home in the magnificent Versailles arena but admitted to feeling an element of pressure.
“It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced, there definitely is extra pressure. I’ve rode in a lot of championships but there’s something different about this.”
Grange, who took over the running of Lothlorien Farm in Canada from her late mother Sue, bought Legacy when the mare was an eight-year-old and was thrilled with her horse’s performance and that her rider.
“That was a bit stressful,” Grange admitted. “I think we all knew she could do that but there’s a difference with what we think in our heads and what actually happens.
“She makes it look easy but obviously it’s not. Dan does so well with her though. He did great, we’ve a great team around us. He and I have been together for a long time and with Legacy obviously for a long time and he’s a fantastic rider.”
Sweetnam is the highest-ranked Irish athlete in the world rankings in ninth, and the Tokyo Olympian had excelled alongside his Galway-bred charge to register a double clear in Ireland’s runner-up finish in Rome before replicating that in the course of the Nations’ triumph at Aachen at the beginning of July.
“That’s a solid start, he jumped great,” Sweetnam stated. “I suppose that was a cheap rail down for us but it’s a solid score and if we can have three rounds like that we’ll be fine for the top 10.
“It’s a very technical course, very light and obviously there’s a lot of different colours he wouldn’t have seen before, different jumps he wouldn’t have seen before and that’s always a tricky part of it so it’s not too easy to get a clear round.
“It’s hot out there, it’s a lot different to Galway, where he’s bred – but he’s used to it, being based in Florida and been to Kentucky a lot so while it’s early yet, so far so good.”
Meanwhile, O’Connor is the most experienced member of the Irish team, competing in a remarkable 151st Nations Cup competition and a fourth Olympic Games.
Like Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz, O’Connor and Maurice delivered a double clear in the Nations Cup at Siena, having delivered the winning clear in Ocala in March.
An ultra-reliable anchorman, O’Connor brought Maurice home with just the plank down at the triple, and slightly outside the time for 5 faults, making it job done.
“Perfect start to our competition,” was O’Connor’s summation. “Shane got us off to a great start and Daniel’s mare was sensational. There’s something different about the three-man format – you saw Peder Fredricson nipped out at the wall and it’s very nearly cost (Sweden) dearly so I want to be safe, get round in one piece and have a go at it tomorrow.
“Top ten finish was the aim of the day today – whether you finish first or tenth it’s just to determine the order of jumping so we didn’t put too much pressure on ourselves. We’ll have a good chat tonight and hopefully we’ll have a few more clears tomorrow.”
Team manager Blake was satisfied with the professional work of his athletes.
“Today worked out very well. We had some tiny bits of misfortune. A lot more teams had a lot more. The horses are jumping well and I think they will jump better tomorrow because this is an unusual event in that there is no class beforehand so you’re going in cold.
“But the course builder did a good job with that in mind. It was probably a bit of a surprise that 20 faults got in so it caused plenty of trouble but I would expect it to be tougher tomorrow. But we are looking forward to it and to being right in the mix at the business end.”