Irish underage show jumpers shine in Florida Nations Cup

THREE Irish underage Show Jumping teams produced excellent performances in Nations Cup competitions at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida early this morning (Sunday), adding to a win for the senior team at the same venue a day earlier.

Photo: The Irish Young rider team (far left), of Noelle Barry, Jenny Ranking, Cormac Hanley and Paraic Kenny, stand on the podium with Team Manager John Ledingham

The Irish Young Rider (under 21) team finished third behind the winners from America, with Brazil in second. Mayo’s Cormac Hanley finished with just a time fault in each of the two rounds riding Twan, while Paraic Kenny and The Irish Sport Horse Pepperpot, produced an excellent clear in the second round. Noelle Barry with Venturo 9 and Jenny Rankin with Colorland’s Cheynne, also played a key role, with both producing vital scoring rounds to help Ireland a podium finish.

Photo: The Irish Junior team of Conor McMahon, Jack Ryan, Phillip Carey and Jennifer Kuehnle, scored a third place finish in the Junior Nations Cup in Florida with John Ledingham as Team Manager

Ireland’s Junior team (under 18) added to Irish success with another third place finish under the guidance of team manager John Ledingham, who also watched over the Young Rider team.
Kilkenny’s Jack Ryan finished with just one time fault in the first round with The Irish Sport Horse Mullaghdrin Rado and produced a foot-perfect clear second time out. Philip Carey with Sterling Un Prince, Jennifer Kuehnle with Larineta and Conor McMahon with Casinjo Ex Z, all performed brilliantly to help Ireland onto the podium, where once again the USA claimed a win ahead of Brazil in second.

Photo: Caelinn Leahy jumped a double clear round with Caladesi in the Children on Horses Nations Cup in Florida

The Irish Children’s team (under 14) rounded off a superb day for the Irish, by finishing fourth under Team Manager Michael Blake –  despite not having the advantage of a discard score.
Caelinn Leahy recorded a superb double clear round with Caladesi, while John Gallagher with The Irish Sport Horse Sportsfield Eternia and Dan Geaney with Elios, also jumped a clear round each to help Ireland to a top four finish, with victory going to Mexico.