Pacino Amiro leads Irish Sport Horses in Hippomundo list with world number two ranking

The leading Irish Sport Horses in the Hippomundo rankings have been published – with second-ranked Pacino Amiro (ISH) leading the way for breeder Simon Scott.

Ridden by Bertram Allen, Pacino Amiro (ISH) was part of the team who performed superbly at the FEI World Showjumping Championships in Herning, Denmark last summer, helping Ireland to a fourth-placed finish – a result that secured qualification to the Paris Olympic Games 2024.

This combination has enjoyed a string of successes, including 5* wins at Wellington, Florida and on the Longines Global Champions Tour in Stockholm & Praha (CZE)CSI5* – GCT/GCL Final, most recently competing in Riyadh (KSA) CSI5*-W to finish in the top ten in the World Cup Two Rounds.

In total, Pacino Amiro (ISH) earned almost €950,000 and finished on top of all Irish Sport Horses.

Pacino Amiro and Bertram Allen at the FEI World Showjumping Championship 2022 in Herning. Photo: Helen Cruden

Second in the Irish Sport Horse Hippomundo Breeder ranking for 2022 was HHS Calais (ISH), bred by the late, great Ita Brennan as the rising star earned an impressive €646,000 partnered by Mikey Pender.

The combination claimed a massive victory in the 5* Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Riyadh in October, taking the top prize of €300,000.

Pender (23) claimed the first Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of his career on HHS Calais in August at Valkenswaard, and the Riyadh win made the Kildareman the youngest ever winner of two LGCT Grand Prix competitions.

It helped the combination to finish up ranked in 18^th place for breeders earnings for the year.

James Kann Cruz (ISH) was a name on everyone’s lips at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington last year and he provide to be out of the top drawer as the season went on.

Shane Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz in the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup of Ireland at the Dublin Horse Show. Photo: Sportsfile 

Not only did the Patrick Connolly-bred grey help Ireland to Aga Khan trophy success in Dublin in the summer, he performed superbly well throughout the year and finished 2022 off with a third-place finish in the €1.2 Million Rolex Grand Prix – part of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping.

The result helped James Kann Cruz to earn just over €550,000 for 2022 and left him in third place in the Irish Sport Horse rankings and 19^th overall.

In fourth and fifth place came John and James Meade as Sea Topblue (ISH), partnered by Andrew Bourns, with earnings of over €244,000 – with excellent results in Nations Cups for the pair, followed by the Patrick Kehoe-bred ABC Quantum Cruise (ISH) under Hector Florentino Roca with earnings of almost €150,000.