Michael Blake names team as Ireland drawn fourth to jump in 2021 Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final

Defending champions Ireland have been drawn fourth to jump in tomorrow’s (Friday) first round of the 2021 Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final at Real Club De Polo in Barcelona.

The Underwriting Exchange and Devenish-sponsored Irish Show Jumping celebrate their win on podium at the 2019 Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final at the Real Club de Polo in Barcelona (ESP). (L to R) Paul O’Shea, Peter Moloney, Chef d’Equipe Rodrigo Pessoa, Darragh Kenny and Cian O’Connor. (Photo: Sonya Hennessy)

A total of 15 teams from around the globe, including all ten teams from Europe Division 1 are set to do battle, with Ireland up against Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA and Uzbekistan.

Ireland, led by team manager Michael Blake, will line out as follows:

Tipperary’s Denis Lynch with Cristello – owned by Onyx Consulting Ltd
Galway’s Michael Duffy with Zilton SL Z – owned by HMF Equestrian & Katherine Duffy
Mayo’s Michael G Duffy with Lapuccino 2 (ISH) – owned by Carl Hanley Sporthorses
Offaly’s Darragh Kenny with VDL Cartello – owned by Lorcan Gallagher and Heathman Farm LLC

All teams will line out in the first round of the Final on Friday night. Those who finish ninth and above will go through to Saturday’s Challenge Cup while the top eight teams will qualify for Sunday’s title-deciding final competition which will begin at 2pm Irish time. To add some extra pressure, the team who finishes tenth of the European Division 1 Nations that are competing in Barcelona, will be relegated to the EEF Nations Cup series for 2022.

The Irish Show Jumping team is sponsored by Devenish & The Underwriting Exchange
Equiline – Official athlete clothing supplier of Horse Sport Ireland