Irish Sport Horse James Kann Cruz has been ranked No. 2 in the world in the 2026 World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) jumping rankings, capping a remarkable season for the 13-year-old gelding and providing another outstanding endorsement of Irish Sport Horse breeding.
Partnered by Cork’s Shane Sweetnam, ranked the world’s number three rider, James Kann Cruz has been one of the world’s leading jumping horses throughout 2026, with a landmark Rolex Grand Prix victory at Falsterbo followed by a top-15 finish at the FEI World Jumping Championships in Aachen.
Bred in Galway by Patrick Connolly, James Kann Cruz is by the internationally renowned stallion Kannan (KWPN) out of the Irish Sport Horse mare CSF Telly Cruz (ISH), by the legendary Irish Sport Horse sire Cruising (ISH).
His No. 2 position in the final WBFSH rankings is a significant achievement for Connolly and represents another major success story for the Irish Sport Horse studbook on the international stage.
The defining moment of James Kann Cruz’s 2026 season came in July when he and Sweetnam claimed victory in the €500,000 Rolex Grand Prix of Falsterbo in Sweden.
Last to jump in the 14-horse jump-off, the Irish combination produced a brilliant clear in 37.68 seconds to take the prestigious five-star Grand Prix by almost a second from Germany’s Richard Vogel and Cloudio.
For breeder Patrick Connolly, it was a landmark achievement for a horse bred at home and another powerful demonstration of the quality of Irish breeding at the highest level of international jumping.
James Kann Cruz carried his outstanding form into the FEI World Jumping Championships in Aachen in August, where he and Sweetnam produced a series of impressive performances against the world’s best combinations.
The pair were Ireland’s only combination to qualify for the individual final, progressing from an original field of 165 horses and riders into the top 25.
They finished 15th individually, with James Kann Cruz jumping brilliantly throughout the championship before an unfortunate rail at the final vertical in the opening round of the individual final left them on 10.28 penalties.
His pedigree is particularly significant, with CSF Telly Cruz herself an Irish Sport Horse mare by Cruising. The Connolly family’s breeding programme has therefore produced a horse that has progressed from Irish breeding stock to become one of the leading jumping horses in the world.
His achievements also add to the strong representation of the Irish Sport Horse among the world’s leading horses. In the WBFSH rankings published at the end of May, James Kann Cruz was already ranked fifth individually, while the Irish Sport Horse studbook was seventh in the world.
His subsequent performances through the summer have now seen him rise to No. 2 in the final 2026 world ranking.
From his Galway breeding to the biggest arenas in international show jumping, James Kann Cruz has become an outstanding example of the ability of Irish-bred horses to perform consistently at the very pinnacle of the sport.
James Kann Cruz is owned by Gizmo Partners LLC and Shane Sweetnam.