Irish Eventing team named for Houghton Hall Nations Cup in the UK

The Irish team has been named for the FEI Eventing Nations Cup this weekend at Houghton Hall, Norfolk in England.

After gaining International status in 2007, Houghton Hall Event now welcomes over 700 horses each year, including more than 350 International competitors and hosts the only British leg of the FEI Eventing Nations Cup.

The Irish team for Houghton Hall Nations Cup is as follows:

Austin O’Connor with Colorado Blue – owned by The Salty Syndicate
Aidan Keogh with Pride of Tredstep (ISH) – owned by Patrick Hughes
Michelle Kenny with RLE Aspe – owned by Spencer Goulding
Declan Cullen with Seavaghan Ash (ISH)(TIH) – owned by Becky Cullen

First reserve will be Jim Newsam on Magennis (ISH) – owned by Jim Newsam & Carole Hawthorne

The Irish Chef d’Equipe for Houghton Hall Nations Cup will be Rodney Powell. Irish Eventing High Performance Director Sally Corscadden said:

“As part of our development plan we are aiming to have teams at more Nation Cup competitions, so we are pleased to have a selection of experienced and new horse and rider combinations as part of the Team for Houghton Hall. Three of the team were members of the Boekelo Nations Cup squad and are joined by Aidan Keogh making his international team debut, riding his home produced Pride of Tredstep. All the horses on the team are quite young and this is an opportunity to gain valuable experience at this level and type of competition. We wish them the best of luck!”

Houghton Hall Nations Cup starts with the Dressage phase on Friday, followed by Show Jumping on Saturday and Cross Country on Sunday.