Irish Show Jumping team named for first Nations Cup of 2017 season

The Irish Show Jumping team for tomorrows’s (Thursday) five-star Nations Cup at Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates has been named by team manager Cameron Hanley.

The FEI Nations Cup Jumping series this year celebrates 108 years of team competition and the forthcoming season will see 19 qualifiers in as many countries, with a total of 50 nations set to compete in the qualifying rounds.

The Irish team for Al Ain will line out as follows:

Galway’s Michael Duffy with Belcanto Z, owned by Alan Burnell
Derry’s David Simpson with Chessy 17, owned by Elm Rock LLC
Limerick’s Paul Kennedy with Cartown Danger Mouse (ISH), owned by Jane Kennedy
Waterford’s Anthony Condon with Balzac, owned by Anthony Condon & Kat Taylor

Ireland have been drawn 6th to go of 10 nations fielding teams in Al Ain which is also known as the Garden City due to its greenery and is the second largest city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the fourth largest city in the United Arab Emirates.

Ireland will compete against Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and the hosts UAE, with €155,000 up for grabs.

The Al Ain Nations Cup starts at 10am Irish time and is available to watch live on FEITV. Ireland will also be represented in the four-star Ocala Nations Cup in Florida, USA on Friday with the Irish team for that encounter set to be announced on Thursday.

As Al Ain and Ocala are not part of the European Division 1 Nations Cup series, Ireland will not be competing for league points at these venues. Ireland’s first points scoring opportunity in Europe Division 1 will be at La Baule, France in May.

Breeding:
Cartown Danger Mouse (ISH) – 2006 bay mare by Harlequin Du Carel (SF) out of Missy Boo (ISH). Bred by Paul G Kennedy, Co. Limerick. Owner: Jane Kennedy. Rider: Paul Kennedy (IRL)