Ireland’s silver medal-winning team
Ireland’s eventing team have bridged a 30-year gap by claiming the team silver medal today at the FEI Eventing European Championships at Blenheim Palace in the UK.
A sensational performance by the Irish quartet of Ian Cassells (Millridge Atlantis (ISH), Aoife Clark (Full Monty De Lacense), Padraig McCarthy (Pomp ‘n’ Circumstance) and Robbie Kearns (Chance Encounter (ISH) [TIH], saw them finish behind gold medal winners Germany as France took home the bronze.
Ireland had been in seventh place after the opening Dressage phase on Friday, before an outstanding cross country performance yesterday moved the Irish up five places to second heading into the final show jumping phase.
With Aoife Clark suffering an elimination during the cross country, the pressure was still on Ireland in the final phase as all scores from their remaining three riders would count.
Dag Albert’s team kept their cool with a clear round from McCarthy along with a single rail apiece from Cassells and Kearns leaving Ireland on a final score of 161.9 and with just over a fence to spare over France who finished on 167.5. Germany took gold medal with a score of 124.9.
Padraig McCarthy finished best of the Irish individually in 12th place, with Ian Cassells 14th, Sarah Ennis 15th, and Robbie Kearns 18th.
The European Championship individual gold medal has been won by Britain’s Laura Collett and London 52.
Ireland’s last European Championship team medal in eventing came at Pratoni del Vivaro in Italy in 1995, when the Irish team of Mark Barry, Virginia McGrath, Eric Smiley and Lucy Thompson took home the bronze medal.
The last European silver medal win for Ireland was on home soil in Punchestown in 1991 with the quartet of Sonya Duke, Olivia Holohan, Jeremy Spring and Fiona Wentges, while Ireland’s sole European Championship eventing team gold medal win, remains as the 1979 triumph in Luhmuhlen, Germany of John Watson, David Foster, Alan Lillingston and Helen Cantillon.