Italy edge out Irish hosts for FEI Nations Cup win in Dublin

With both countries on a zero score after two rounds, the Italians edged out the hosts in a two-way jump-off with the result decided in a head-to-head between Denis Lynch and Piergiorgio Bucci in which the latter prevailed.

It was Italy’s fifth victory in the 90-year history of the Aga Khan Cup which is awarded to the winning side at the Irish fixture. The first Italian team to lift the coveted trophy back in 1955 with the last being back in 2009 when Bucci was also in the team.

Team USA looked to be in big trouble after the second round but rallied to finish joint-third along with Sweden, while Great Britain and the Netherlands shared fifth place, France lined up seventh and Czech Republic finished eighth.

There was a three-way tie on a zero score between Ireland, Italy and the USA at the halfway stage, but the USA were vulnerable when Jessica Springsteen didn’t start with Cynar VA in the second round. So when Lauren Hough’s Ohlala lowered fence three and fence seven on her second tour of the ring, and Georgina Bloomberg and Lilli also faulted at the latter, it took the second part of a brilliant double-clear from Laura Kraut on Cavalia to anchor them on a final total of 12.

Sweden added eight to their first-round four-fault effort to also finish on 12, while the Dutch scoreline of 16 was deceptive because both Ruben Romp (on Audi’s Teavanta ll) and Johnny Pals (on Fernando) produced double-clear rounds.

Great Britain also finished on 16 fault with Robert Bevis their star turn with a double-clear from Courtney Z. Meanwhile France could only manage to produce one fault-free round all afternoon, racking up a total of 24 faults, while the Czech Republic side completed with 30 faults on the board.

Ireland and Italy however battled it out for the victory, as Lynch picked up just a single time fault in round two and Greg Broderick and MHS Going Global, Ireland’s sole Jumping representatives at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, produced another clear round.

Youngest team member and world number nine, 20-year-old Bertram Allen, recovered from an eight-fault first-round effort to produce a clear round second time out on Hector van D’Abdijhoeve while Cian O’Connor lived up to expectations with his spectacular second clear round on Good Luck.

The Italians were matching their hosts all the way when both Bucci and de Lorenzo also returned with a second clean round, but when Bicocchi’s gelding, Ares, hit two fences there was plenty of pressure on Chimirri second time out. Only a clear round would be good enough, and once again he produced it on Tower Mouche to force a third-round jump-off.

Lynch was first to go against the clock on All Star, but, galloping down to the last on a long stride, the stallion suddenly veered left, and the Irish were hampered by a six-fault penalty. Bucci returned to the ring to take his chance and the 40-year-old kept his cool by carefully getting home just inside the time to claim victory.

The Italians came to Dublin knowing they were in danger of relegation to Europe Division 2 and their win has now boosted their chances of remaining in the top league, especially with only one more points-gaining opportunity remaining at the eighth and last leg of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping 2016 Europe Division 1 series which will take place next Friday, 29 July, at Hickstead, England.

After the events in Dublin, Netherlands stays on top of Europe Division 1 but Ireland climb up to runner-up position with their second place and stands with 323,33 points while Sweden is in third place at 305 points. None of the top three teams are allocated to take more points during the final leg at Hickstead, meaning their total score for 2016 is now set.

The teams travelling to Hickstead to fight for more points are Italy, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland – currently in fifth place at 245 points, and Great Britain, the only team with the possibility to push Netherlands off their throne if they can pull home a win.
Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping 2016 Europe Division 1 League
Result: Dublin, Ireland

1. Italy 0 faults/47.85 seconds in third-round jump-off
2. Ireland 6 faults/57.84 seconds in third-round jump-off:
3. USA 12 faults
3. Sweden 12
5. Great Britain 16
5. Netherlands 16
7. France 24
8. Czech Republic 30

Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping 2016 Europe Division 1 League
Standings after seventh leg: Dublin, Ireland

1. Netherlands 335
2. Ireland 323.33
3. Sweden 305
4. France 265
5. Switzerland 245
6. Great Britain 200
7. Czech Republic 180
8. Italy 147.5
9. Germany 135
10. Belgium 100

(includes points allocated to Ireland and Czech Republic from cancelled event at Lummen)