WELLINGTON, Florida was where the 2014 show jumping season kicked off for many Irish riders and Co Offaly rider Darragh Kenny was in scintillating form from the very start, winning a hat-trick of international classes at the Winter Equestrian Festival. Back in Europe, the indoor season drew to a close in April with Germany’s Daniel Deusser and Cornet d’Amour winning the Longines FEI World Cup JumpingFinal at Lyon in France.

After the surprise withdrawal of Aachen from the 2014 Furusiyya series, Ireland’s European Nations Cup season began at Lummen, Belgium in early May where the team finished joint-third but collected no league points. Lummen was not one of the four legs that Irish show jumping team manager Robert Splaine had picked to count on the road to the Furusiyya final in Barcelona.