CORK’S Shane Sweetnam and the Irish Sport Horse gelding CSF James Kann Cruz, bred by Patrick Connolly, have proved their consistency at the very top of the sport yet again, with a runner-up finish in the concluding class of the Major League Show Jumping fixture at Tryon, North Carolina, the five-star $340,000 MLSJ 1.60m Grand Prix.

Forty-two combinations took on the challenging first-round track, with 12 jumping clear to proceed to the jump-off, where six managed to keep a clean sheet. Sweetnam and his reliable equine partner jumped double clear in 43.94 seconds to finish a close second to Nicola Philippaerts (BEL) on Gadget Mouche (43.74). Kent Farrington (USA) and Greya filled out the podium in third, while Galway’s Michael Duffy and Be Sky Hawk placed eighth in the class.

Afterwards, Sweetnam commented: “I have a lot of experience coming second this year so I always felt there was someone that maybe could catch me [tonight], but I left everything out there. James Kann Cruz is brilliant, and his results speak for themselves. Not just this year, every year. When you go to jump on him, you know you have a chance.”

On form

The Irish got the ball rolling right from the start, with three in the top eight of Wednesday’s 82-strong five-star warm-up class. Paul O’Shea rode Imerald Van’T Voorhof into second place, Sweetnam on Riesling van de Gaathoeve was fifth and Andrew Bourns on Perte Totale de Res Nove was eighth - all three jumped double clear.

Meanwhile, in the day’s two-star $1,000 1.40m two-phase class, Down’s Conor Swail and Clique placed fifth, followed by Bourns on MCS Leisester in ninth.

Swail and the nine-year-old Clonterm Obolensky (ISH), bred by Brian Duff, were runners-up by the narrowest of margins in Thursday’s five-star $117,000 1.50m Grand Prix qualifier, when they jumped double clear in a jump-off time of 36.67. Abdel Said (BEL) won the class with Calvaro by a whisker, stopping the clock in 36.66. Seventeen of the 46 starters jumped clear in the first round to proceed to the jump-off, where eight remained clear.

Daniel Coyle came out on top of the 75 starters in the two-star $32,000 1.45m Grand Prix qualifier when he rode Calippo 57 double clear in a jump-off time of 32.22. David O’Brien placed ninth in the class on board Coleccini.

Coyle took another win in Friday’s two-star $32,000 Grand Prix riding Daydream. Just 12 of the 58 starters jumped clear to secure their place in the timed decider, where five combinations completed double clear rounds. Coyle was best of these in a time of 38.01, finishing ahead of second-placed Tony Stormanns (GER) on Cassius Clay (38.41). Duffy placed ninth on board RMF Balouwinsky.

Coyle was back on the podium again in Friday’s five-star $62,500 1.50m class, this time taking the runner-up spot with Legacy. They finished just behind Roberto Teran (COL) on Condara.

Duffy (Be Sky Hawk) was on the winning Helios team in the $200,000 MLSJ team competition, along with German riders Tony Stormanns on Donjon D’Asschaut and Richard Vogel on Michael Jackson W.

It was an Irish one-two in Saturday’s five-star $31,100 1.45m Winning Round class when Coyle struck yet again with Farrel, followed by Bourns on Perte Totale De Res Nova in second. From a start list of 28, the best 10 proceeded to the Winning Round, where only three pairings kept all the poles in place to deserve their podium finishes - Nicolette Hirt (USA) on Kaphira took third behind the two Irish men.

Michael Duffy and his nine-year-old Be Sky Hawk jumping clear to finish eighth in the $340,000 Kask Grand Prix in Tryon. The pair were also on the winning Helios team in the $200,000 MLSJ team competition \ Monarch Creative

Maryland five-star

Meanwhile, the MARS Maryland five-star event also took place over the weekend and, while there were no Irish competitors, Switzerland’s Felix Vogg became the first Swiss eventing rider to win two CCI5* titles and the first to win one outside Europe.

Vogg scored 28.3 in dressage, went clear inside the time on the cross-country course and then jumped clear in the show jumping to claim victory with the 14-year-old German-bred Holsteiner mare Cartania.