Ireland finished in third place in the Nations Cup Of Ireland at the Dublin Horse Show as the Netherlands lifted the Aga Khan Trophy.
The Dutch were the only team to finish on a zero score after a superb display by their quartet of Frank Schuttert, Kevin Jochem, William Greve and Harrie Smolders.
Anchor rider Smolders was under huge pressure when entering the arena at the RDS as last to go, as he knew a fence down would mean a three-way jump-off between Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany.
Smolders kept his cool and delivered the all-important clear as his nation won the Aga Khan for the first time since 2010.
Tom Wachman and Tabasco De Toxandria Z record a superb double-clear round for Ireland in the race for the Aga Khan Trophy at the Dublin Horse Show pic.twitter.com/qYR7QxNIiO
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 8, 2025
Ireland’s display featured superb double-clear performances from 20-year-old Tom Wachman on Tabasco De Toxandria Z and 23-year-old Seamus Hughes Kennedy on ESI Rocky.
Cian O’Connor had four faults in the first round on Bently De Sury before jumping clear second time out.
Denis Lynch and Vistogrant had four faults in each round, with Ireland finishing on a final score of four faults.
Germany finished as runners-up on the same four-fault score as Ireland, but in a faster time.
The USA, who came into the competition as defending champions, had been in a share of the lead at the halfway stage but had to settle for fourth place ahead of Great Britain in fifth, Canada in sixth, Mexico in seventh and Switzerland in eighth place.
Ireland chef d’equipe Michael Blake reflects on a third-place finish in the Nations’ Cup of Ireland pic.twitter.com/ctd5dvB6fN
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 8, 2025
Ireland chef d’equipe Michael Blake said afterwards: “We tried really, really hard and the lads were phenomenal. Seamus and Tom having double-clears on their Aga Khan debut shows just how good they are.
“We were up against very strong teams out there. You look at the strength of the Germans, who we were level with on four faults, and it was an extremely good American team who finished behind us – that makes the result that bit better, even though we’re disappointed not to win.
“You would have to be pleased, we’re creating depth that a lot of other nations don’t have, and eventually depth is going to pay off.
“If you look at it, zero is what is needed to win five-star Nations Cups – that’s how we won our two earlier this year and that’s what won here today. We made very few mistakes today but it was the mistakes that cost us. Nonetheless, I’m very proud.”
The Dublin Horse Show continues on Saturday, with the Defender Puissance taking centre stage, before the action comes to a close following Sunday’s Rolex Grand Prix of Ireland.