Brian Hennessy, Author at Horse Sport Ireland

Irish riders climb Longines FEI World Rankings with 12 now inside top 100

Following a run of excellent results primarily at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, several Irish Show Jumping riders have made big gains on the latest Longines FEI World Rankings released this week. Offaly’s Darragh Kenny remains the highest-ranked Irish rider at No.9, while Cork’s Shane Sweetnam has climbed five places to No.26. Tipperary’s Denis Lynch is at No.29, with Wexford’s Bertram Allen now at No.35. Limerick’s Paul O’Shea is at No.39, with Derry’s Daniel Coyle also inside the top 50 at No.44. Among the 12 Irish riders inside the top 100, Meath’s Cian O’Connor has made the biggest gain, moving up a massive 49 places to No.74. Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat remains the World No.1, just ahead of Germany’s Daniel Deusser at No.2. The Eventing and Dressage rankings remain largely unchanged after a period of limited competition activity. Galway’s Cathal Daniels remains Ireland’s top-ranked Eventing rider at No.14, while Kildare’s […]

David Blake leads Irish 1-2 in final Grand Prix at 2021 Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida

Irish riders have finished on a high at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, with Co Clare’s David Blake taking victory in the curtain-closing $50,000 Wanderers Club two-star 1m45 Grand Prix. Riding the Pine Hollow Farm-owned DY Zento, Blake finished just over a second ahead of fellow Irishman Kevin Mealiff in second with Tupac Van De Vrombautshoeve. Fifteen of the 44 starters made it through to the jump-off representing seven different nations. Kevin Mealiff (IRL) and Tupac Van De Vrombautshoeve Z, owned by Oakmont Stables, LLC, took the early lead when clear in 44.05 seconds. Mealiff and the 11-year-old gelding would hold the lead through the next few pairs until Blake and Dy Zento returned. Blake and the 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Zento x Goodtimes zipped around the track, opening up their stride for a long gallop down to the final fence. The pair managed to leave all the […]

Stateside wins for Ireland’s Stephen Moore and Darragh Kenny in Florida

Irish riders completed week eleven of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida in winning form, with Galway’s Stephen Moore taking victory in the $50,000 Cabana Coast two-star Grand Prix, while Offaly’s Darragh Kenny came out on top in the $50,000 Captive One Advisors 1m50 Grand Prix at the same venue. Forty-five combinations contested the Cabana Coast two-star Grand Prix, with seven of those making it through to the second round. Moore was last to go in the jump-off aboard Vlock Show Stables’ Team De Coquerie and they produced the winning clear in 40.81 seconds. “We’ve been building up for a few weeks for this class,” explained Moore. “This is his second two-star Grand Prix of the season; we started slowly. He jumped good in the qualifier and had one down that kept us out of the jump-off. In the first round today, we got lucky in a few spots […]

Five-star win for Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam in Florida ahead of $500,000 Rolex Grand Prix

Cork-born Shane Sweetnam has once again shown his is one of the fastest riders on the planet, by taking victory with Indra van de Oude Heihoef in Friday’s $37,000 Bainbridge Companies 1m45 Classic at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida. Nineteen of the 46 starters jumped clear, with Olympic individual gold medalist Eric Lamaze (CAN) and Chacco Kid taking the early lead with a time of 62.24 seconds, which would hold up for second place at the finish. Riding early in the class as well, in fifth spot in the order, Sweetnam and Indra van de Oude Heihoef, owned by The Blue Buckle Group, shaved almost a full second off the leading time, taking it down to 61.26. None of the remaining entries were able to catch Sweetnam’s time, but Jessica Springsteen (USA) and Hungry Heart came close in 63.10 to take third place overall. Although Sweetnam had not seen […]

Irish clean sweep in weekend’s global competitions as Nicky Galligan and Darragh Kenny claim major victories

Two of the biggest Show Jumping competitions on offer across the globe this weekend have been won by Irish riders, after Meath’s Nicky Galligan claimed a four-star Grand Prix win in California, while Offaly’s Darragh Kenny scooped the top prize in the three-star Grand Prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida. Riding The Irish Sport Horse Javas Miss Jordan, bred in Co Louth by Judy Murphy, Galligan produced one of just two clear first rounds in the $250,000 four-star Grand Prix at Thermal in California. The only other clear came from America’s Richard Spooner aboard Quirado RC and they were first to go in the jump-off, setting a target of clear in 45.70 seconds. Galligan followed and blazed around the course to comfortably beat Spooner’s time – the Irish rider stopping the clock at 41.15 to take victory. “I was thinking, have fun today, [it’s a] two horse jump […]