IRELAND’s second Nations Cup of the weekend didn’t go exactly to plan but Michael Blake’s team still managed to fight back to finish on the podium at the five-star show in Ocala, Florida.

The amazing 71-year-old Ian Millar and teammate Eric Lamaze were the heroes of the day when both jumped double clear to split the €50,000 bonus and secure victory for team Canada.

Ireland were drawn first to jump of six teams in what turned out to a turbulent competition with the triple combination – triple bar, followed by a square oxer and a vertical out – causing the majority of problems over the first five-star track designed by Brazil’s Marina Azevedo.

Ireland opened with an eight fault score from Derry’s Daniel Coyle with the 12-year-old mare Cita. Limerick’s Paul O’Shea and Skara Glen’s Machu Picchu finished with just a single fence down, while Ireland’s third rider, Offaly’s Darragh Kenny with Go Easy De Muze, had a foot in the water and one fence down for eight faults.

Riding the anchor leg for Ireland, Cian O’Connor finished with just one pole down at the first part of the combination with Clenur. This left Ireland in joint fourth at the halfway stage on 16 faults. Germany and Canada shared the lead with just four faults apiece at the halfway stage.

The second round saw Coyle finish with one fence down, while O’Shea and Skara Glen’s Machu Picchu picked up four faults with a foot in the water. Kenny and Go Easy De Muze looked to be heading for Ireland’s first clear coming to the last fence, but the Longines vertical fell to the floor to leave them with four faults. Last to go, O’Connor and Clenur delivered a foot-perfect clear round to leave Ireland on a two round total of 24 faults - tied for third place with the USA.

Things fell apart for Germany when Christian Heineking was eliminated at the open water then 12-faultsfrom Andre Thieme and Markus Beerbaum had to be added to four collected by Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum.

The Canadians began to look shaky when Francois Lamontagne’s single second-round mistake was followed by 16 faults from Tiffany Foster and Brighton who had faulted just once first time out. However, Millar, who made his Olympic debut 46 years ago, steadied the decline with another rock-solid clear with Dixson. And when Lamaze kept a super-cool head to back that up with Coco Bongo then it was a done deal.

Brazil took the runner-up spot of 16 faults, ahead of Team USA and Ireland.

Irish Development Team Manager Michael Blake said: “It was a very tough course. We had few errors in the first round but we were much better in the second. Darragh Kenny in particular was very unlucky not to jump clear just having the last fence down.

“You don’t win Nations Cups without jumping clear rounds and we didn’t jump enough of them today, but our lads never gave up and improved their position in the second round.

“Canada fully deserved to win and congratulations to them. We now focus on our next Nations Cup in Wellington, Florida where I expect we will have a very strong team.”