Ireland finishes fifth in Spansih Nations’ Cup

THE IRISH team finished in fifth place at the Gijon Nations’ Cup in Spain this afternoon (Saturday) on a combined tally of 30 penalties.

With ten teams competing in the first round, the Irish quartet made the cut for the second round on a total of 17 faults, with the four lowest-scoring nations eliminated.

Irish opener Capt. Michael Kelly and the Irish Sport Horse Annestown had one pole down in each round, while the competition’s youngest rider, 18 year-old Bertram Allen from Wexford, incurred eight penalties in the first round and four in the second, with Romanov.

Tipperary’s Denis Lynch and All Inclusive NRW had one fence down and one time penalty on their first attempt, and duplicated that score in the final round. Tipperary’s Shane Breen and Zarnita had an unfortunate 17 penalties in the opening round, and retired in the second, after incurring 12 faults.

The Europe Division Two competition, which was not a scoring Nations’ Cup for Ireland, saw the Netherlands claim victory on ten faults.

Ireland has already qualified for the Division One Final, which takes place in Barcelona next month.

At the World Driving Championships in Slovakia, meanwhile, leading Irish competitor Barry Capstick and his wife Anna were taken to hospital after a tip-up in the water obstacle during the Marathon phase of the competition. Capstick is believed to have suffered a leg injury, though both horses were unhurt. Ireland continues to be represented at the championships by Folke Rohrsson and Annika Rohrsson.