A BRILLIANT performance from Nick Turner’s trio of event riders, Aoife Clark, Elizabeth Power and Sarah Ennis, earned the Irish team third place on the podium in a thrilling FEI Nations Cup at Aachen, which saw Germany’s winning stranglehold at the venue broken for the first time since the series began in 2012.

Australia won on 145.40 penalties, with Germany in second on 154.90, and the Irish team finished on a combined total of 179.90.

All three of the Irish riders, who had no discard score to rely on, went clear across the country over a testing course designed by Rudiger Schwarz. The Irish team had been in eighth place after dressage and three clears in the show jumping phase saw the team take their place on the podium.

Clark (Wasting Light) was the best placed Irish rider in 13th, ahead of Power (Soladoun) in 15th, and Ennis (BLM Diamond Delux) also finished inside the top 20.

Ireland now lies in fifth place in the standings on 250 points, behind Britain (465), Germany (360), France (295), and Australia (260).

The Australian quartet led a competitive nine-nation field from the start, extending a narrow lead after dressage to a convincing margin of 9.5 penalties after four fast cross-country rounds.

JUNG WINS

The individual win went to reigning Olympic and European Champion, Germany’s Michael Jung on FischerTakinou, on 42.40 penalties. Just 0.40 behind him was Australia’s Shane Rose and CP Quality, recently arrived in Europe to prepare for his trip to Rio, and Germany’s Ingrid Klimke was third with non-team horse Horseware Hale Bob (44.30).

Rose’s team mates, British-based Christopher Burton (Nobilis 18), a former winner at Aachen, and Samantha Birch (Hunter Valley II), plus Sonja Johnson (Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison), finished fifth, 10th and 21st respectively.

The Germans, boosted by Ingrid Klimke (SAP Escada FRH) and Jung (La Biosthetique Sam FBW), finished in fourth and sixth places individually.

Dirk Schrade had two jumping rails down on the veteran Hop And Skip and Badminton runners-up Andreas Ostholt and So Is Et had three, which scuppered the host nation’s chances of a win.

New Zealand’s Jonelle Price, riding Faerie Dianimo, was seventh and best of the fourth-placed New Zealand quartet. Jock Paget was ninth on Clifton Signature, but Tim Price and Bango had a run-out at fence 22b, the second of an influential double of angled hedges near the end of the course, and Blyth Tait and Xanthus were eliminated at the same fence.

Series leaders Britain, who have contested all six legs so far with wins at Ballindenisk and Strzegom, Poland, finished fifth. Nicola Wilson (One Two Many) and Kristina Cook (Calvino II), who will now be travelling reserve for the British team in Rio, took eighth and 12th places, but Laura Collett (Grand Manoeuvre) had a run-out at fence 22b as well and Frankie Reid-Warrilow was eliminated for cumulative refusals on Dolley Whisper.

The FEI Nations Cup Eventing series resumes after Rio with the seventh leg at new Italian venue of Vairano (September 16th-18th).

FEI NATIONS

CUP AACHEN

1 Australia 145.4: Shane Rose/CP Qualified, 42.8; Christopher Burton/Nobilis 18, 49.2; Samantha Birch/Hunter Valley ll, 53.4; (Sonja Johnson/Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison, 65.5)

2 Germany, 154.9: Ingrid Klimke/SAP Escada FRH, 46.9; Michael Jung/La Biosthetique Sam FBW, 49.7; Dirk Schrade/Hop and Skip, 58.3; (Andreas Ostholt/So Is Et, 62.9)

3 Ireland, 179.9: Aoife Clark/Wasting Light, 58.0; Elizabeth Power/Soladoun, 58.7; Sarah Ennis/BLM Diamond Delux, 63.2

INDIVIDUALS

1 Michael Jung (GER)

FischerTakinou 42.40

13 Aoife Clark (IRL)

Wasting Light (ISH) 58.00

15 Elizabeth Power (IRL) Soladoun 58.70

20 Sarah Ennis (IRL)

BLM Diamond Delux (ISH) 63.20