THE Irish show jumping team finished as runners-up in the five-star BMO Nations Cup at Spruce Meadows in Canada on Saturday night, on a final score of 17. Germany were victorious when they finished on just four, with Belgium in third on 21.

Nine teams lined up and there were plenty of thrills and spills, as two teams suffered elimination - including the home side. The course certainly provided its share of challenges, as faults, retirements and eliminations were rife. From the 36 riders in round one, there were only five clears - one being recorded by Tipperary’s Denis Lynch - while six of those who jumped in the second round managed to remain without penalty.

Jessica Kurten had selected her Irish squad as Derry brothers Daniel Coyle on Farrel and Jordan Coyle on Cordiamo, Down’s Conor Swail on Clonterm Obolensky (ISH) (Cornet Obolensky x She Has The Lux by Lux Z) and Denis Lynch on Vistogrand. The younger Coyle brother was first to go and picked up just four faults. He was followed by big brother Jordan riding Cordiamo. This pair had some difficulty on this tricky track and finished on 16 faults, a score that was then discarded. Swail was up next and collected another four faults, while anchorman Lynch rode a perfect clear round, leaving Ireland on a first-round total of eight, which had them in third place at the halfway stage, behind Great Britain on two and Germany on four.

Show jumping can be unpredictable and fortunes can change rapidly. So it was in the second round at Spruce Meadows.

Daniel jumped a super clear round second time out, while Jordan incurred eight faults. Swail was unlucky to pick up a single time penalty and, with the withdrawal of Lynch, Ireland’s second round tally of nine brought them to 17 overall. This was good enough for the silver medal.

Undisputed win

The German team members had all jumped well in the first round to finish on four faults, only to better this in round two when three of the four riders jumped clear for a second round score of zero and four overall, making them the undisputed winners.

Belgium completed the podium in third with a second round score of four adding to their round one tally of 17, giving them 21 overall, pushing them in front of the British team and into the bronze position.

The British team, who had held the lead in round one, had a very different fate in round two, when Ben Maher (Catelly) was eliminated - meaning that the faults incurred by the other three riders, Jessica Mendoza (8), Jack Whitaker (4) and Tim Gredley (12), all counted, adding 24 to their first round score of two to put them on 26 overall and into fourth place.

The USA placed fifth and France took sixth place.

Daniel Coyle and Calippo 57 won the 1.55m Cardel Homes Cup class at Spruce Meadows \ Spruce Meadows Media/Mike Sturk

Great start

The Spruce Meadows Masters fixture ran at the Calgary venue from September 8th to 13th and hosted two-star classes alongside the five-star programme.

Daniel Coyle got off to a great start on Wednesday, when winning the five-star 1.55m Cardel Homes Cup class on board the 10-year-old gelding Calippo 57. There were 54 starters in the class, of whom 22 jumped a clear first round, with nine replicating that feat in the jump-off. Coyle’s jump-off time of 40.24 could not be beaten, with nearest challenger Daniel Deusser (GER) on Pepita van T Meulenhof BR just over two seconds behind in 42.25. McLain Ward (USA) completed the podium in third with High Star Hero in 42.49.

Afterwards, Coyle, who is a Spruce Meadows veteran, said: “I think, for me specifically, knowing Spruce Meadows is a big help. Coming here [for the] first time, second time is challenging for the riders. Things are different here [Spruce Meadows] than they are anywhere else, as they should be - that’s why it’s called the ‘Masters’.”

On Thursday, it was Swail’s turn to top the podium, as he won the 1.50m Atco Cup class with the 13-year-old gelding Casturano. From 46 starters, just 11 completed the first round without penalty - the time allowed catching several combinations, who incurred time faults. With one withdrawal from the jump-off and four picking up jumping faults, six pairs completed double clear rounds. The top three had a close finish and stopped the clock within a second of each other. Swail set the fastest time of 41.30, followed by Nayel Nassar (EGY) on Orphea HQ in second (41.71) and Jack Whitaker (GBR) on Skyfall OS in third (41.92). Darragh Kenny and Zero K made it through to the jump-off, but were among the four-faulters to finish eighth.

Lynch and Vistogrand had a top-five finish in the 1.55m Cana Cup class on Thursday afternoon. Of the 54 starters, only three jumped clear in round one, with all three repeating that effort second time out and very much deserving their podium places. Lillie Keenan (USA) on Kick On took first in 41.03, ahead of Sophie Hinners (GER) on Iron Dames My Prins in second (43.78) and Ben Maher (GBR) on Catelly in third (47.11). Lynch picked up two time penalties in the first round to finish fifth.

Kenny rode Magnolia WS into eighth place in the two-star 1.45m PH&N Cup class on Thursday, from 13 starters.

Friday’s 1.60m Tourmaline Oil Cup class saw a fourth-place finish for Lynch, this time riding Brooklyn Heights. From a start list of 32, there were only five clear first rounds and one of those withdrew from the jump-off, leaving four to jump again. Three of those completed double clears, while Lynch incurred eight faults to finish just off the podium. Andre Thieme (GER) won the class on DSP Chakaria. Daniel Coyle and Gisborne VDL placed joint ninth after collecting four faults in the first round in a time of 79.79, the same time as Arturo Parada Vallejo (MEX) on Mon Faut-Tren.

Daniel then followed up with a podium finish in the Atco Electric Six-Bar class riding Calippo 57, when they were joint second with Spain’s Armando Trapote on Caept’n Hook, both pairs faulting in the fourth jump-off. Sanne Thijssen (NED) on King Blue won the class when they cleared the fourth jump-off at height of 2.05m.

On Saturday, the two-star 1.45m Friends of the Meadows Grand Prix saw Jordan Coyle ride Ballyv Blake into seventh place of the 26 starters. Just five kept all the poles in place in the first round, with four going on to complete double clear. Coyle picked up four faults first time out. The class was won by Nayel Nassar (EGY) on Ivory TCS.

Huge margin

Sunday dawned well for the Irish and the 28-strong five-star 1.50m Suncor Cup Winning Round class saw three Irish riders in the top six, led by Jordan Coyle.

There were 11 clear rounds first time out, with the best 10 proceeding to jump again and three completing double clear. The best of these was Jordan Coyle on For Gold, who was the winner by a huge margin of almost seven seconds! Coyle stopped the clock in 55.80, with runner-up Sean Jobin (CAN) on Arkuga doing so in 62.44. Tim Gredley (GBR) on Vuitton of Picobello Z was third in 64.62. Daniel Coyle on Gisborne VDL took fifth place, followed by Kenny on Zero K in sixth.

The show concluded with the 1.60m CPKC International Grand Prix, presented by Rolex, on Sunday, which saw Daniel Coyle and Farrel place 10th. The best 12 of the 39 starters in round one booked a place in round two, with the best six of these proceeding to a jump-off.

Coyle jumped clear in round one, but incurred eight faults in round two and had to settle for 10th place.

He finished just behind Nayel Nassar (EGY) on the 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding ESI Ali in ninth. The class was won by Ben Maher (GBR) on Enjeu de Grisien.