THE main arena of the RDS in Ballsbridge had witnessed 22 Irish Aga Khan trophy wins prior to last Friday’s victory for the home side, but few were as emphatic as this latest triumph, where Robert Splaine’s young team simply blew-away the opposition.

As they raised one of the most coveted trophies in the sport aloft, Bertram Allen, Greg Broderick, Cian O’Connor, Darragh Kenny and chef d’equipe Robert Splaine, brought a broad smile to the face of Irish President, Michael D Higgins, as the packed stands went wild with delight.

Ireland had established their supremacy by the halfway-stage when they were the only team on a zero score. The Netherlands finished second ahead of the Swiss who managed to survive the elimination of Olympic champion Steve Guerdat. Lying second-last at the halfway point, Germany bounced back to finish fourth ahead of Spain in fifth, while the British failed to add to their 25 previous Aga Khan wins, ending up sixth on this occasion.

The Italians rallied with three clear rounds second time out to finish seventh, but the biggest surprise of the day was the last-place finish for the 2014 Dublin winners from the USA.

The American’s have enjoyed some memorable days a the RDS, but this was one they will want to forget. It was a nightmare afternoon for American pathfinder, Charlie Jayne, who collected 20 faults first time out and was then unceremoniously dumped in the water on his second tour of the track with Valeska. That, combined with an unfortunate second-round double-error for Georgina Bloomberg when she lost a stirrup after a mistake at the penultimate vertical with her mare Lilli, sealed their fate.

There was another big surprise when the result revealed which countries have qualified from Europe for the Furusiyya final at Barcelona in September. Belgium, Switzerland, Britain, France, Ireland, Netherlands and Sweden have made the cut, but the normally efficient Germans finished in eighth place on the final league table and will miss out on the Spanish final along with Italy.

TRUE COLOURS

Alan Wade’s course looked deceptively straightforward at first, with three clear rounds from the first-line riders along with four more of the opening group who made just a single error. The time allowed too looked surprisingly generous, however the track really began to show its true colours as the competition progressed, particularly in the second round where several horses took exception to being asked to tour the great expanse of the RDS arena for a second time.

Allen was the first man out and left the vertical at fence eight on the floor with the 17-year-old stallion Romanov, but that was Ireland’s only mistake in the first round. Broderick’s MHS Going Global and O’Connor’s Good Luck are two very talented nine-year-olds and both gave jumping exhibitions, while Kenny’s 12-year-old gelding, Sans Soucis Z, also breezed home effortlessly. Allen was keen to get Ireland off to a good start in round two and he did just that, a foot-perfect round with Romanov really put the Irish in the driving seat.

Broderick and MHS Going Global looked like they were taking on a simple schooling course rather than a demanding Nations Cup test, the Irish Sport Horse was incredibly relaxed and produced what proved to be one of just two double clear rounds on the day. “The build-up was phenomenal, I felt like I didn’t want to let anyone down,” said Broderick, who was making his Aga Khan debut.

As O’Connor entered the arena for a second time, Hollywood scriptwriters couldn’t have planned it better. Making his 100th Nations Cup appearance and in front of his home fans, the Meath rider knew anything less than two fences down would give Ireland their first Aga Khan win in three years. Good Luck faulted at the same vertical as Romanov had in round one, however O’Connor kept his cool and cruised home with just a single error to send spectators into wild celebrations. “My horse jumped fantastic and it was a privilege to compete with such a great team of guys,” he commented.

Wout-Jan van der Schans secured runner-up spot for the Dutch when he matched Broderick’s double clear round.The Netherlands could drop the 18 collected by Johnny Pals when his stallion decided he didn’t want to continue past The Irish Field advertising hoarding when turning away from the pocket. This was exactly the same spot that brought Guerdat’s second round to an end with Corbinian.

Robert Spaine’s Irish team had several reasons to celebrate. Along with an all important home Nations Cup win and a place at the Furusiyya final, the result also confirms Ireland’s position in the Premier League of international team jumping again in 2016. However perhaps most importantly, Splaine now knows he has a rock-solid squad as he heads to the FEI European Championships Aachen, where Ireland will be hoping to claim one of the last remaining qualification spots for Rio 2016.

Allen meanwhile has been riding the crest of a wave in recent years, but it was clear that this result, as part of an Irish team, was extra special. “I have never enjoyed success like this at senior team level and it’s a great feeling to be part of it,” he said, while chef d’equipe Splaine summed up the performance perfectly by saying: “I’m very proud of the four them, they really pulled together and they were in a class of their own.”