“WE didn’t come to take part, we came to take over and that is what we did,” said team Ireland chef d’equipe Michael Blake after his team won the three-star Nations Cup in Drammen, Norway, on Sunday.

Just the second European Nations Cup since sport resumed following the Covid-19 lockdown, the team was a mix of experience and youngsters with Shane Breen being joined by three riders under the age of 25 – Eoin McMahon, Jason Foley and Michael G. Duffy – with each rider producing at least one clear round.

Nineteen-year-old Foley, a former European Junior champion, was making his senior team debut and produced a fantastic double clear round, one of just two of the competition, to cement his name firmly into Blake’s notepad. In an added bonus, there were two Irish Sport Horses on the team: Castlefield Vegas and Lappucino 2.

The only other double clear in the competition also came from an Irish Sport Horse, the Marion Hughes-bred Z7 Ascot. By Non Stop, the nine-year-old stallion owned by Team Z7 was ridden by Britain’s Georgia Tame, who rides for Shane Breen and his team at Hickstead.

Drammen has proved a lucky venue for Ireland over the years, with no less than five Irish Nations Cup victories recorded there over the last 30 years, including three wins since 2017.

At the halfway stage, Ireland shared the top spot on four faults with Britain. Breen was first to go aboard Team Z7’s 12-year-old gelding Z7 Ipswich (Carembar de Muze x Quick Star) and got the team off to the perfect start with a clear round.

Co Clare’s Eoin McMahon was next to go with Chacon 2 (Chacco-Blue x Aventyno), owned by Madeleine Winter-Schulze, and finished with a single fence down, before Carlow’s Foley jumped an excellent clear round with the Martin Egan-owned 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse Castlefield Vegas (Cassino x Lux Z), who was bred by John Clarke. The pair were winners of the HSI Premier Series 1.50m Grand Prix at Barnadown before leaving to compete on the European circuit.

Mayo’s Michael G. Duffy was last to go for the Irish in round one and finished with one fence down aboard the ISH Lapuccino 2 (by Livello), who is owned by Carl Hanley Sporthorses and was bred by Hanley’s father-in-law, Sven Kapp, in Co Galway.

Flawless

The second round saw Breen and Ipswich finish with one fence down, while a perfect clear from McMahon and Chacon left Ireland still tied with Britain in the lead with two riders remaining. When Foley completed his flawless double clear, Ireland pulled away from Britain after their third rider had a fence down.

Duffy’s clear when last to go confirmed Ireland as winners, finishing with two fences in hand over Britain and Denmark who shared second place with 12 faults. Germany finished fourth on a score of 16, while the home team from Norway took fifth.

Commenting on the team’s performance, a delighted Michael Blake said: “Shane got us off to a great start and then Eoin’s horse went a bit green in front of the double for some reason and he looked at it a little again in the second round but Eoin did a great job with him.

“Jason was superb, his first Nations Cup and only 19 years of age, he was incredible. Michael was really unlucky in the first round and got a deserved clear when last to go. The team really pulled together in the second round with three clear rounds in-a-row.

“This was our sixth win this week at this show. All of the riders who came here, including Harry Allen and Jack Ryan, who won the Derby, did a fantastic job and we have won the Grand Prix and the Nations Cup three times here in the last four years. Some of the lads bypassed other competitions here to target the Nations Cup and they deserve enormous credit. We didn’t come to take part, we came to take over and that is what we did. I want to thank all our riders, the show organiser in Drammen Eric Walberg and thank our owners, grooms and all the support staff at Horse Sport Ireland.”

Horse Sport Ireland CEO Ronan Murphy added: “I want to congratulate Michael Blake and his team on a fantastic performance in winning today’s Nations Cup in Drammen. The result comes just a week after another great performance when finishing as runners-up at the Nations Cup in Prague.

“It was particularly good to see this victory being achieved with a largely young group of riders and of course with two Irish Sport Horses playing such an important role. Of course a special word of thanks to all of our owners and sponsors as we celebrate a brilliant victory for Ireland.”