THE Irish show jumping team safely qualified for tomorrow’s (Friday) team final at the Paris Olympic Games. Michael Blake’s team of Shane Sweetnam, Daniel Coyle and Cian O’Connor finished on a total of nine faults in sixth place today at the Chateau de Versailles where the temperature reached 30 degrees. The best 10 teams qualified and start tomorrow on a score of zero.

Ireland were drawn ninth of the 20 teams in today’s qualifier and Shane Sweetnam was first out for the team with the 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse James Kann Cruz (Kannan x Cruising) who was bred by Patrick Connolly. The pair picked up five faults at fence 5a, an oxer early on the course.