This is a subscriber-only article
It looks like you're browsing in private mode
RODRIGO Pessoa and his team can breathe a sigh of relief after they made it through to the final round of the team competition at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina.
Despite a shaky start to the competition, Cian O’Connor’s superb clear round when 96th to go of the 122 starters put Ireland back in the running, and when other teams faulted, they finished the second round in sixth place, with 10 teams going through. O’Connor also lies in fifth place individually.
The top six in tomorrow’s final round, which kicks off at 1.30pm local time (6.30pm Irish time), qualify for the 2020 Rio Olympic Games.
A relieved Pessoa said: “Half way through this it looked a little bit dodgy, we had some mediocre rounds but so did everyone else because it was really a tough tough test today. That’s why we have an anchor (Cian O’Connor) who is a really solid rider with a solid horse, that why we pay him the big bucks to be there! He really put us right back in there and then people continued having rails and we are in a much better position than two hours ago.”
Pessoa continued: “For us, the most important thing was to put ourselves in contention of having a chance tomorrow and that, a couple of hours ago, was not the case. In the same breath, we are back in striking distance of where we want to be for something. If some medal drops, we will try to catch [them].”
Two marginal mistakes for Irish pathfinder Shane Sweetnam and Chaqui Z resulted in two fences on the floor and a time fault added to that meant he finished on nine faults, putting the team on the back foot from the off.
He knocked the 1.50m oxer at fence two, before the second part of the difficult double (13b) on a testing final line which caught out most of the field.
“It’s a lot more difficult today than yesterday, obviously we expected that,” Sweetnam said following his round. “The horse jumped well, just small things. Fence two is very early to have a fence, then he did a lot of good work in between that, and then a bit cheap at the end. That’s a difficult line, he jumped the hard parts well and then we just shifted a little right, had a little rub and at this level you don’t get away with that.”
Following a challenging round yesterday with a spooky Ipswich van de Wolfsakker, Shane Breen started well but ultimately incurred another tough day when finishing with 14 faults. The 10-year-old gelding, who is inexperienced at this level, was one of the many horses with a foot in the water, before knocking fence 11 and 13b.
A very disappointed Breen said: “It was a tough round, disappointing, he jumped really well, and it’s just one of those things isn’t it. He is pretty much inexperienced. I know he has some great results this year but this is another level isn’t it. I am disappointed for myself and the team, but he did jump great, just silly mistakes really.”
Things got more difficult when Paul O’Shea broke the finish beam with eight faults just after the break. He knocked the third part of the triple combination at four, before also faulting at 13b like his teammates.
Afterwards he said: “I wanted to start off a lot more positive than yesterday, and we did that. We were a bit unlucky there at the c part of the treble, it’s normally not a fence we would have. Then he was excellent down the difficult line, the water line, he did that really well and felt quite good.
“It did feel good going into the last double but it is just jumping badly. If I was to do it again, I don’t know would I do much differently, he tried his heart out for us in there, gave us everything.”
With their championship at stake, anchor man Cian O’Connor produced one of the best rounds of the day, and one of only five clears, aboard Good Luck to give Ireland the lifeline they needed.
He was delighted afterwards, saying: “He’s a great horse, he always jumps well. Yesterday I made a mistake and today I rode him well and he jumped clear.”
Speaking about feeling any pressure, O’Connor added: “At this stage I’ve been anchor long enough so you don’t really worry about it, you do your best.”
Switzerland still lead the way in the team classification on a score of 11.64, ahead of the USA in second (12.59) and Germany (18.09).
Italy’s Lorenzo de Luca has moved into first place individually on a score of 1.19 after a clear round today. It is incredible close at the top. USA’s McLain Ward picked up a single time fault to sit in second (2.08), ahead of Sweden’s Peder Fredricson (2.16). Cian O’Connor is in fifth place (2.69).
Overnight leader, Switzerland's Steve Guerdat slipped to eighth place after Bianca hit one fence today.
TEAM RANKINGS AFTER ROUND 2
1.SWITZERLAND – 11.64
2.USA – 12.59
3.GERMANY – 18.09
4.SWEDEN – 20.59
5.THE NETHERLANDS – 24.35
6.IRELAND – 27.12
7.FRANCE – 27.76
8.AUSTRALIA – 28.32
9.GREAT BRITAIN – 31.04
10.CANADA – 32.89
Judith Faherty is attending the World Equestrian Games exclusively for The Irish Field. Full coverage will be published in The Irish Field every weekend. Try a 30-day digital subscription for only €1 HERE
SHARING OPTIONS: