Canuck and Kiwi Show Jumpers win first Nations Cup qualifiers of 2018

The first action was at the CSIO5* qualifier in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday. Squads of four riders from each nation were present at the Arab League qualifier, including from three countries in the region: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Syria. Five teams joined them from elsewhere (eligible for prize money but not qualifying points): New Zealand, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland and Egypt.

In the end, it was the New Zealanders who captured their first Nations Cup qualifier title, winning €64,000. The result came after a jump-off between that country’s Samantha McIntosh on Check In and Ireland’s Shane Breen on Laith, with the Kiwi McIntosh riding clear for the victory. Afterwards, McIntosh was quoted by FEI News as saying that her team’s triumph was unexpected: “It’s ridiculous, it was like watching a movie, honestly I never thought we could do it!” Highlights from Abu Dhabi are here. 

On Sunday, the Nations Cup spotlight shifted to the HITS Post Time Farm in Ocala, Florida for the first of three North American qualifiers. Six nations were present – Canada, the United States, Brazil, Ireland, Germany and Mexico – with several of the best riders on the planet entered in the team competition.

In the end, it was Canada’s Eric Lamaze and Coco Bongo and Ian Millar and Dixson who led teammates Tiffany Foster (Brighton) and François Lamontagne (Chanel du Calvaire) to victory, with the experienced pair both completing double-clear rounds (no rails down). The win brought with it a collective paycheque of $128,694. The full results are here. Second and third place respectively went to visitors Brazil and, in a tie, Ireland (Daniel Coyle, Paul O’Shea, Darragh Kenny and Cian O’Connor) and the United States, although it was the U.S. which earned the second-most points for the League standings as the ‘local’ runners-up.

As ‘Captain Canada’ Millar put it, “Eric and I are like the bookends – you  just have to put someone in the middle and away we go and do our best to deliver!” And the Canadians will be looking to carry over that momentum at the next North and Central America and Caribbean CSIO5* qualifier, at Coapexpan in Mexico in April, which also happens to be the next qualifier  worldwide. To see the full international competition calendar, including for Europe’s Divisions 1 and 2, click here.