Ireland’s Swail and Lansdowne take eighth place in 2013 World Jumping Rankings

IRELAND’S Conor Swail and the stallion Lansdowne amassed enough points during the 2013 show jumping season to propel them to eighth place overall in the world rankings, which were issued this week by the world governing body, the FEI.

Owned by Susan and Ariel Grange, the 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion gave Swail a total of 1355 points for the year, despite Swail being out of action in the final months of 2013 due to injury.

Swail’s eighth place with Lansdowne was the best of all the Irish combinations ranked for 2013 and included points achieved at Nations’ Cup appearances for his country, as well as numerous wins and top five placings in major competitions throughout the world.

A total of 4,648 horse-and-rider combinations were rated for the 2013 world rankings and Co. Down-born Swail and Lansdowne ended up ahead of many of the world’s best international riders and horses, due to the duo’s consistent performances as a unit.

Swail said after hearing of the ranking: “It’s quite an achievement for Lance (Lansdowne), obviously highlighting his quality and consistency at the highest level in the sport. I’m also delighted for his owners, Sue and Ariel Grange and family, who are seeing his potential as a young horse being realised. They are tremendous owners who enjoy seeing their horses develop and they are very involved in the process. We are a great team”.

Ireland’s Show Jumping Team Manager Robert Splaine said tonight (Tuesday): “It’s a marvellous achievement. It must be a very proud time for his owners to see their horse ranked so highly. I’m sure this news will cheer Conor up as he is presently injured, and of course we all wish him a speedy recovery”.

The top-ranked combination for 2013 was Britain’s Ben Maher and the grey mare Cella, who totalled 1718 points for the year.