Breen claims third place at Helsinki World Cup Qualifier

TIPPERARY’S Shane Breen claimed third place in a tense World Cup Qualifier in Helsinki, Finland today (Sunday) which saw only eight of the 36 starters managing to achieve a clear first round.

Breen and his own ten year-old stallion Balloon navigated a stylish zero-penalty start and in the jump-off came home clear once more in a time of 37.14.

However, Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat with Nino des Buissonnets shaved just over a second off the Irishman’s time to take the runner-up spot, while France’s Patrice Delaveau and Orient Express collected the 30,000 euro first prize with a time of 34.23, almost three seconds faster than Breen.

However, the Irish rider not only took home 18,000 euro for his third place, but now holds fifth position in the leaderboard after two legs of the Longines/FEI World Cup Jumping rankings for the 2013/2014 season.

Breen also took a third place with Balloon in Saturday’s Grand Prix at the five-star Finnish venue.