SHOW JUMPING action in the United Arab Emirates kicked off last weekend with four-star World Cup action in Abu Dhabi and Ireland were represented by West Sussex trio of Shane Breen, Trevor Breen and David Simpson.

In Sunday’ feature 1.60m World Cup, Shane Breen was best of the Irish in fifth place with Z7 Ipswich. Some 40 combinations started, with 10 going through to the second round – six of those were clear, one had two time penalties and three on four faults. Breen went through with four faults but produced the fastest time against the clock (39.08) to slot into fifth place and earn just over €8,000.

Only four riders managed to produce double-clear rounds and victory went to The Netherlands’ Bart Bles aboard the 12-year-old stallion Kriskras DV (0/0 41.23). Runner-up for the home nation was Abdullah Mohd Al Marri on Sama Dubai, ahead of Germany’s Jorg Naeve and Benur De Romet in third place.

Trevor Breen was runner-up in Sunday’s four-star 1.45m class which was also won by Bart Bles. From a startlist of 62, seven combinations progressed to the jump-off, where Breen and Germaine W were one of just three clears in 41.81 seconds. Their time was beaten by Bles with Grenoble DN (0/0 41.49). Shane Breen finished fifth with Lady Star van Dorperheide when faulting once against the clock in 42.10.

In the young horse classes, Simpson guided the six-year-old Golden Hawk-sired stallion BE Aquila to seventh place in Saturday’s 1.30m, just picking up a time fault in the first round. The stallion was bred by Shane Breen’s Breen Equestrian Ltd.