Irish Show Jumping team drawn last to jump in Friday’s Aga Khan at the Dublin Horse Show

The draw has been made at the Dublin Horse Show for tomorrow’s (Friday) Longines FEI Nations Cup of Ireland for the Aga Khan trophy, with the home team from Ireland getting a favourable draw as last to jump of the eight teams, while Italy will be the first team into the arena.

The 2018 Irish Aga Khan squad sponsored by Devenish & The Underwriting Exchange (l-r)
Shane Sweetnam, Cameron Hanley, Michael Blake (assistant team manager), Rodrigo Pessoa (Irish Show Jumping team manager), Mark McAuley, Paul O’Shea and Billy Twomey Photo: Matt Browne/Sportsfile

The Irish Aga Khan team, sponsored by Devenish and The Underwriting Exchange, will line out is as follows:

Cork’s Shane Sweetnam with Main Road – owned by Sweet Oak Farm and Seabrook LLC
Louth’s Mark McAuley with Utchan De Belheme – owned by Charlotte McAuley
Limerick’s Paul O’Shea with Skara Glen’s Machu Picchu – owned by Skara Glen Stables, Whipstick Farm, P. Hurter & P. Agnew
Mayo’s Cameron Hanley with Quirex – owned by Patrick Mielnik

Ireland, France, Britain, Italy, Netherlands and Switzerland are all competing for Nations Cup points, while USA and Mexico will also be among the list of starters.

Rodrigo Pessoa will be leading his team out in an Aga Khan competition for the second time following his debut season as Irish team manager in 2017:

“We are really looking forward to it. Our riders are ready, they are experienced and up for the challenge in front of our home crowd. We have four solid riders and they know what to expect. We are expecting a close competition, the teams look pretty even and you couldn’t say one stands out. We will be respecting all our opponents and hoping for a good result, ” Pessoa said ahead of the competition.

Ireland will be hoping to produce a repeat of the performance shown in their last outing in Europe Division 1 when they came out on top in the British Nations Cup at Hickstead. That result moved Ireland up to third place on the league table and confirmed their qualification for October’s Nations Cup World Final in Barcelona. Victory in front of their home fans on Friday would see Pessoa’s team finish top of the 2018 Europe Division 1 Nations Cup league table.

The Longines FEI Nations Cup of Ireland for the Aga Khan trophy starts at 3pm on Friday, with live coverage starting from 1.45pm on RTE 1 television.

The Irish Show Jumping Team is sponsored by The Underwriting Exchange and Devenish
Equiline – Official athlete clothing supplier of Team Ireland Equestrian