IRELAND finished a very close second place in the 2025 Longines League of Nations final in Barcelona on Sunday, being pipped in the jump-off by less than a quarter of a second, with Great Britain taking the top spot.

Michael Blake had selected his team as Michael Pender with HHS Los Angeles (ISH) (Le Roi (ZDP) x China Cavalier (ISH) by Cavalier Royale (HOLST), bred by Marion Hughes), Bertram Allen with Qonquest de Rigo, Sean Monaghan with Toyger and Billy Twomey as anchorman with Jumping Jack van de Kalevallei. The team was drawn fifth of the nine teams to jump.

Michael Pender and HHS Los Angeles (ISH) were first in for Ireland and finished on four faults. They were followed by Bertram Allen and Qonquest de Rigo, who jumped a super clear round. Next in was Sean Monaghan riding Toyger and they picked up four faults, as did anchorman Twomey and Jumping Jack van de Kalevallei when they knocked the last fence. This left Ireland on eight faults at the end of the first round, in joint second place along with Italy, France, USA, Germany and Great Britain, with the Netherlands leading on a score of four. Three riders were selected to jump for each team in round two, with no discard score.

First in for Ireland in round two, Allen and the nine-year-old gelding Qonquest de Rigo completed a brilliant double clear, which kept Ireland on a score of eight faults. This was one of only two double clears in the whole class.

Monaghan was next up and he and Toyger collected a really unfortunate four faults at the first fence moving Ireland to a score of 12. Twomey was last to go and he also picked up four faults, giving Ireland a final score of 16. This put the team on equal pegging with Great Britain, with a jump-off required to find a winner for the coveted first prize.

Blake chose Twomey and Jumping Jack Van De Kalevellai to jump off for Ireland. They gave it their best shot, jumping a fantastic clear round in a fast time of 38.42 seconds. World number five Scott Brash and Hello Jefferson were the pair chosen to jump for the British team. They are well practiced at this level and they also kept the poles in the cups, with the clock stopping on 38.19 seconds - a mere 0.23 seconds faster than Twomey to secure the win for Britain. Germany claimed third place on a score of 21 faults. Belgium placed fourth, with the USA fifth, while The Netherlands, who were in the lead at the halfway stage, placed sixth.

Emotional

Blake was understandably emotional following the competition, as it was his last in his role as Ireland manager, with his tenure now ended after eight years. “It really would have been perfect to have gone out with a win - especially in a competition like this. You could see by the line-ups here just how much the best nations in the world wanted to win it, and we gave it everything.

“It really was a brilliant performance from the lads, and to be beaten in a jump-off by less than a quarter of a second is a tough one to swallow at the moment, but the overwhelming feeling is one of pride today.

“I’ve had an incredible run as High Performance Manager, or Chef d’Equipe as we like to be known, with so many highlights - days I'll never forget like our Aga Khan win, our European Championship silver and Nations Cup wins at shows such as Rome, Aachen, La Baule, Ocala, Abu Dhabi and Spruce Meadows, as well as the European gold in Gothenburg when I worked with Rodrigo Pessoa.

“It's the greatest honour to wear the green jacket and to have led the team for so many years, with all those massive highs, has been truly a privilege.

“There are too many thank yous, from my riders and support staff, as well as vet Marcus Swail, Guy Hodgson, our grooms and owners, staff in Horse Sport Ireland and our magnificent sponsors - nothing could be done without them all. It wasn't the fairytale ending we'd hoped for, but it sure was close!”

World’s best

Denis Duggan, CEO of Horse Sport Ireland, said afterwards: "Huge congratulations to the Irish team led by Michael Blake on today's fantastic result in Barcelona. Against the world's best, our riders and their horses did their country proud once again in finishing runners-up at the Longines League of Nations final.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Stephen O'Connor and The Underwriting Exchange for their sponsorship and support of the programme over the last 10 years and look forward to working with them again in the future.

"Finally, I'd like to thank Michael for the work he has done in the role of High Performance Manager - the Irish team has achieved great things during Michael's tenure and it is in a very strong position going forward, thanks to the work he has put into the programme."

O'Connor, Chairman of The Underwriting Exchange (whose wife Catherine owns Monaghan’s mount Toyger), said: "What a brilliant achievement. It was a massive team effort all week, from management, riders and grooms, owners and horses. Billy was foot-perfect in the jump-off to put it up to Scott Brash and it's the tiniest margins, but everyone should be extremely proud.

"We are particularly proud of Sean to step up in that arena against mainly the teams from Paris 12 months ago. He and Toyger were magnificent out there.

"Congratulations too to Michael on the result and all of his brilliant results as manager - we arguably have some of the best riders in the world and he has overseen some exceptional results.

"Finally, there was a €5,000 bonus to the grooms of the winning team today in Barcelona, which we said we would match if Ireland won.

"As it came down to a jump-off, we are delighted to sign off our 10-year sponsorship period to pay the grooms' bonus to the Irish grooms. Well done to Anna, Asia, Lovisa and especially Kim, who does so much with Toyger. As sponsors, it really feels like a fantastic way to step out.“

Individual classes

The Longines League of Nations Final was held at the Real Club de Polo in Barcelona from October 2nd until 10th. Thursday, Friday and Saturday saw individual competitions being held, prior to the team finale on Sunday.

The opening class was a 1.40m Estrella Damm Trophy two-phase competition, which saw 52 starters take to the arena, 13 of whom managed to jump double clear within the allocated time. Michael Pender finished on the podium for Ireland in third, riding Madgeslane Louis (Luidam (KWPN) x Madges Lane Karol (ISH) by OBOS Quality 004 (OLD)), his home-bred eight-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding that owns along with his mother Annmarie. They jumped double clear in a phase two time of 37.33 seconds. The class was won by Megane Moissonnier (FRA) on Kandoo Z in 36.53, very closely followed by Juan Riva Gil (ESP) on Fernhill Balou Beau (ISH) (Sligo Candy Boy (ISH) x Miss Mac Car (ISH) by Cavalier Royale (HOLST)), bred in Co Sligo by Donald Clarke, in second (36.63).

The 1.60m Grand Prix of the City of Barcelona was held on Friday and saw a start list of 38, with the best 12 proceeding to the jump-off. Six combinations kept all the poles intact in both rounds, with the win going to the accomplished Scott Brash (GBR) on Hello Folie in a jump-off time of 52.12. Sean Monaghan on Toyger placed ninth in the class.