IRELAND claimed a podium position in the opening Region Central qualifier of the 2026 Longines EEF Nations Cup Series at Mannheim last Sunday, in the first of two opportunities to gain qualifying points for September’s final. Jessica Kurten’s team finished third on a total of just four faults, exactly one second behind Belgium who also incurred four penalties, while winners Germany maintained a clean sheet throughout.

Ireland lay in fourth place after the first round, when both Lt Michaeli Byrne riding MSH Claregalway and Max Wachman riding Tipperary left all the poles intact. First to go for Ireland, Matt Garrigan with Grace V, had one pole down for four faults and, when Irish anchors Niall Talbot and Charming Dream Z did the same, it left the team behind Germany, Belgium and the slightly faster French side at the break.

Garrigan began round two with a solid clear round and, when senior Nations Cup debutante Lt Byrne produced an impeccable double clear with the Irish Sport Horse MSH Claregalway, a feat promptly repeated by Wachman, the team’s zero score couldn’t be improved by Talbot and they finished with only the four penalties from the first round.

French pathfinder Nicolas Layec was eliminated in the second round, so when Kevin Staut incurred four faults, their team moved down the leaderboard on an overall total of eight.

Belgium ended on four too, but their slightly faster time left them as runners-up, while Germany emerged as the clear victors on home soil when they were the only one of 11 teams to finish on a zero score. Interestingly, Stefan Engbers and Gerrit Nieberg were joined by two former individual eventing World Champions in Michael Jung and Sandra Auffarth to complete their team.