THE Irish team of Shane Sweetnam, Paul O’Shea, Conor Swail and Cian O’Connor produced a fantastic display of show jumping last Friday night to win the CSIO**** $150,000 FEI Wellington Nations Cup for the second year in a row, and for the third time in history.

Just two weeks after scoring a decisive team victory in Ocala, Michael Blake’s team, with two new combinations from that Ocala win, finished the two-round competition on a total of four faults to land a convincing success ahead of America on 13 faults and Brazil in third with 16. Venezuela were fourth, Britain fifth and Canada sixth of eight teams that took part.

First to go in the opening round, Cork’s Shane Sweetnam and Spy Coast Farm’s Chaqui Z jumped clear with just one time fault. Limerick’s Paul O’Shea with Skara Glen’s Machu Picchu and Co Down’s Conor Swail aboard Rubens LS La Silla were the two new members of the team and both opened with foot-perfect clear rounds.

Anchor man Cian O’Connor was also clear aboard Seringat to leave Ireland tied for the lead with Brazil at the half-way stage on a team total of zero faults. The all-female USA team were lying in third on five faults and, at that stage, it looked like a three-way battle. Drawn second-last of the teams to jump in round two, Sweetnam returned with just four faults before O’Shea jumped Ireland’s first double clear round, just one of three in the class, aboard Skara Glen Stables, Whipstick Farm, P. Hurter and P. Agnew’s 10-year-old Skara Glen’s Machu Picchu (by Silverstone).

Perhaps one of the most explosive jumping performances of the night came from the Vanessa Mannix-owned Rubens LS La Silla, an 11-year-old chesnut stallion by Rebozo Ls La Silla. A new mount to Swail this season, they returned with four faults second time out in their first Nations Cup appearance.

An eight-fault score from America’s last rider Georgina Bloomberg ended their chances of a home win, before Cian O’Connor entered the ring as last to go for the Irish with his own Seringat. Just as he did in Ocala a few weeks before, O’Connor kept his cool to complete his double clear performance and leave Ireland on an unbeatable total of just four faults. O’Connor has since revealed that Seringat, an 11-year-old Selle Francais gelding, has been sold to Norway’s Geir Gulliksen.

Brazil’s Eduardo Menzes lowered two poles with Quintol when last to jump, dropping them below the Americans and into third.

Speaking at the press conference after the class, chef d’equipe Michael Blake said: “We came here to win, and we went to Ocala to win. It is very easy to win with these guys because they are really good. Basically, if you have a bit of a plan and tell them in time where they are going, they are going to turn up. That is what they did on both occasions.”

It was Sweetnam’s 10th straight year competing on the Irish team in Nations’ Cup at Wellington, and he spoke of Blake’s strategy for the team.

“Michael made a good plan and talked to all of the riders that were here in Wellington. Obviously Cian and I were lucky enough to be on both teams that won, but Kevin and Richie were also here in the practice ring tonight helping out. The team spirit is fantastic. I have to give it to Michael, it is just amazing.”

Swail has also been on all three winning teams in Florida. Speaking of his new mount, he said: “He is a wonderful horse, and a great prospect for the future, and for the Irish team. Ireland has won here now three times, and thankfully I have been on all three teams. It has been a good record for me. We all mucked in, and dug in the trenches there, and I think we all did a great job tonight.”

Meanwhile, Paul O’Shea was appearing for the first time in the Wellington Nations Cup and surprisingly revealed that his horse had never jumped an open water at a show before the class.

“He’s never jumped water at a show - I didn’t tell Michael that, he never asked me! But nothing really fazes him so I wasn’t really worried. He has such a good mind I knew that it wouldn’t be a problem,” O’Shea said.

The Nations Cup was not a point-scoring round for Ireland. The first venue where Ireland can earn points in the Europe Division One will be in La Baule, France, on May 12th.