FOR the second time in three years Ireland won the three-star FEI Nations Cup in Drammen, Denmark, last Friday. A brilliant performance from a relatively young team, with just two caps between them and led by chef d’equipe Shane Carey, beat 14 countries to take victory.

Tyrone’s Jenny Rankin (23) and the Deirdre Bourns-owned Bennys Legacy got the Irish off to an excellent start, jumping clear with just a time fault. On his Nations Cup debut Laois’ Aidan Killeen (29) and Fair Play, owned by H.P.J. Verdellen, were the discard score in the first round with five faults, while Kilkenny’s Susan Fitzpatrick (20), also debuting at this level, with her mother Sharon’s Fellow Castlefield, came home with just one fence down.