IRELAND’S Michael Duffy was on the winning Helios team in the $200,000 MLSJ Cabana Coast Team Competition at the Major League Show Jumping fixture at Traverse City in Michigan on Friday. Riding RMF Clinton Son, Duffy’s double clear round helped his teammates Colombia’s Roberto Teran Taur on Dez’ Ooktoff and Germany’s Rene Dittmer on Cody 139 to claim the win.

MLSJ first-timers Dittmer and Duffy both got off to good starts, each jumping clear in the opening round. Dittmer rode Cody 139 (Casall Ask x Quidam De Revel), while Duffy was on board RMF Clinton Son, a Clinton x Heartbreaker stallion, owned by Rushy Marsh Farm. Both jumped clear again in the second round, which meant Teran went forward to the gold-medal face-off.

The Colombian rode the 17-year-old Dutch-bred Colandro son, Dez’ Ooktoff and the pair went head-to-head with Julien Anquetin on Blood Diamond Du Pont of the DIHP Roadrunners. Teran jumped clear, while Anquetin had a costly stop during the medal round, putting himself and his Roadrunners teammates Erynn Ballard and Kristen Vanderveen into second place.

The Maccabi United and Trelawny Trailblazers teams jumped off for the bronze medal position, with the latter getting the podium place – the team comprised of Charlotte Jacobs (USA), Philip McGuane (IRL) and Nayel Nassar (EGY).

Duffy said of his MLSJ debut: “When the opportunity came up, it was super to come and see new parts of the world and a new format. The jump-off aspect made it very interesting and competitive. I’ve been watching [MLSJ] from afar for the last few seasons. Getting off to a good start is another feather in our cap as riders.”

The next MLSJ team competition, leg 2, will be in Toronto on August 23.

McGuane and Paso Doble SCF then placed fifth in Saturday’s five-star $32,000 Winning Round class, when they jumped double clear in a jump-off time of 48.22 seconds. The class was won by Germany’s Rene Dittmer on Echo VH Gerendal Z in a time of 45.67.

Duffy then secured a top-five finish in the five-star $340,000 B&D Builders Grand Prix, when he rode BE Sky Hawk into fourth place with a double clear round in a jump-off time of 40.16. Kent Farrington (USA) proved unbeatable when steering Greya round the course in a very fast 38.31 to take first place.