THE Irish show jumping team won the thrilling Longines FEI Nations Cup Final for the first time last Sunday evening at the Real de Polo Club in Barcelona, Spain, and in doing so, finally put the ghost of the Olympic past to bed when securing their team place at next year’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Rodrigo Pessoa’s squad may have left qualifying to the last minute, but the victory in Barcelona was classy and convincing, as well as history-making. For the first time in history, Ireland will send a full complement of equestrian teams to an Olympic Games, with the eventing and dressage teams already qualified.