Ireland finished runner-up to Germany in the BMO Nations Cup at Spruce Meadows, Calgary, Canada, overnight.

Nine nations took to the International Ring to challenge the 1.60m track designed by FEI Course Designer Leopoldo Palacios (VEN).

All nine teams participated in the opening round before the field was narrowed to the top six teams based on their combined scores.

Round One

Daniel Coyle and Farrel were the pathfinders for Jessica Kurten’s team. The Derry rider and the 16-year-old gelding completed the course in a time of 69.38 seconds, but with four faults.

His brother, Jordan, was next into the arena, with Cordiamo. The combination had an uncharacteristic total of 16 faults, which became the Irish discard score in round one.

Conor Swail and Clonterm Obolensky had four faults, stopping the clock in 71.73 seconds.

Ireland’s only clear of the opening round was delivered by the anchor combination of Tipperary’s Denis Lynch and Vistogrand. This left the team with a total of 8 faults at the conclusion of the first round.

Round Two

Ireland, Britain, Germany, Belgium, the United States and France all produced scores needed to advance to the second round, setting the stage for a thrilling finish.

With the scores tightly packed at the top, Germany, Ireland and defending champions Great Britain entered the second round separated by only a narrow margin.

The powerful Germany lineup featured three members of the team that claimed victory at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen in August: Daniel Deusser, Sophie Hinners and Jörne Sprehe. The three all delivered faultless performances in the second round.

Only three of the Irish combinations took to the International Ring for the final round.

Daniel Coyle and Farrel improved on their opening effort as they went clear in 68.30 seconds.

Jordan Coyle and Cordiamo also improved on their first round score, this time having two rails down in a time of 71.42 seconds.

Conor Swail and Clonterm Obolensky were next to go for Ireland, and the combination went clear, only to have one time fault.

Ireland’s anchor combination of Denis Lynch and Vistogrand withdrew as their efforts would not have made any different to the result.

Germany took the title of a two-round score of 4 faults, with Ireland second on 17 faults. Belgium finished in third on 21 faults, ahead of the defending champions, Britain, in fourth place with 26 faults.

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