Ireland finish joint fourth in Lisbon Nations Cup while Bertram Allen and Ross Mulholland score wins in Germany

An Irish Show Jumping team under the guidance of Development Team Manager Michael Blake, have finished joint fourth in the three-star Division 2 Nations Cup at Lisbon in Portugal.

Ireland were in third place after the opening round where Derry’s David Simpson was the stand-out performer after jumping a perfect clear with the Julia Cruden-owned Keoki who is just an eight-year-old. Four fault scores from both Dermott Lennon with Fleur V and 18-year-old Michael Pender with Can Ya Makan, left Ireland on eight faults at the halfway stage.

The second round was jumped under floodlights and pathfinder Alexander Butler finished with eight faults with the Irish Sport Horse Hallowberry Cruz. Teenager Pender was again impressive – finishing with just one fence down, while Simpson and Keoki added five faults. Ireland’s anchor rider Dermott Lennon, picked up eight faults with Fleur V. This left Ireland on a 25 fault total and in equal fourth place alongside Portugal.

A strong Belgian team who are seeking promotion to Division 1 were crowned Lisbon Nations Cup winners after finishing on an score of just four faults. Spain finished second on 21 faults while France took the third place on the podium with 24 faults.

Earlier on Friday afternoon, Rodrigo Pessoa’s Division 1 Irish team sponsored by The Underwriting Exchange and Devenish, scored an impressive third place finish in the Rome five-star Nations Cup which was won by the home team from Italy.

An incredible winning run by individual Irish riders against world class opposition continued on Friday, with Wexford’s Bertram Allen and Armagh’s Ross Mulholland both scoring victories at Hamburg in Germany.

Allen and the 13-year-old grey mare Molly Malone (pictured above) were at their brilliant best when they came out on top in the 1m50 speed class at Hamburg’s five-star Global Champions Tour show in Germany. Fourth to go in an eight horse jump-off, Allen and Molly Malone crossed the line clear in 39.95 seconds and would eventually collect a winners prize of over €20,000. Belgium’s Olivier Philippaerts and Ikker came closest to catching the Irish pair but a time of 40.29 left them as runners-up.

Co Armagh’s Ross Mulholland had earlier claimed another Irish win in the four-star 1m50 jump-off class at the same venue. Riding the 10-year-old gelding Callisto, Mulholland crossed the line clear in 41.15 seconds in the seven horse jump-off to finish ahead of Greek rider Aggelos Touloupis and Zita (41.73).

Friday’s wins for Allen and Mulholland brings to six the total number of Irish victories in the space of 48 hours. On Thursday, Billy Twomey recorded a double of wins in Hamburg along with another win for Denis Lynch at the same venue, while Mark McAuley added a victory for Ireland at Rome’s Nations Cup show in Italy.