IRELAND finished second in tonight's (Saturday) Nations' Cup of Canada at the five-star Spruce Meadows arena near Calgary.

The Irish quartet of Trevor Breen, Nicola FitzGibbon, Dave Quigley and Shane Sweetnam lay in third position at the halfway mark on a total of nine faults, with the USA and the Netherlands just one point ahead on eight faults apiece.

But a steady performance in the second round, with just one mistake apiece and a single time fault from Dave Quigley, saw the Irish move forward to take the runner-up spot on 21 faults behind winners USA, who finished one fence ahead with 17 penalties.

Riding her own 13 year-old bay gelding 'Puissance', Kildare's Nicola FitzGibbon, who celebrates her 23rd birthday this week, was Ireland's only clear round, and added just four faults to her total in the second round, while Breen and 'Adventure de Kannan' improved from eight faults to four on their final round.

Dave Quigley and 'Ulot' picked up five faults in each round, while Limerick-born Shane Sweetnam and the bay stallion 'Amaretto d'Arco' had just one fence down on each outing tonight.

The Irish team, under Chef d'Equipe Paraic Geraghty, finished four points ahead of Canada, and five points clear of Switzerland and the Netherlands, who tied for fourth place on 26 faults.

Nicola FitzGibbon