Equestrian Sport World GamesIt was nail-biting stuff in Aachen's vast showjumping arena at the World Equestrian Games in Germany yesterday as the Irish quartet scraped through to tonight's top-10 team final by the skin of their collective teeth.
And it went right to the wire - with the difference between 10th and in or 11th and out resting on the shoulders of the last rider of the day, Malin Baryard. Just one fence down would do, but the 31-year-old Swede obliged in spades by accumulating a cricket score that dropped Sweden to 12th and gave Ireland a reprieve and a place on the startlist for tonight's floodlit team finale.
The day had started with so much promise when Shane Breen and World Cruise floated round the 14-fence track with supreme ease for a clear that boosted Breen up the individual placings from overnight 31st to stake a temporary claim on third.
And Team Ireland was up from eighth to fifth, the major goal of the week if Robert Splaine's team is to secure an early ticket to the 2008 Olympics.
Second in for Ireland, Marie Burke - whose sensational performance in Tuesday's opening speed round had created such a stir - was clear over the first eight fences. But Chippison lost a front shoe as he landed over the big oxer after the water and was slipping on the approach to the combination.
He lowered the first part, before Burke heroically got him back together and left everything else in place to complete on four faults and keep Ireland fifth at the halfway stage.
But the storyline started to unravel after that, with Billy Twomey and Luidam returning a nine-faulter after connecting with the oxer after the water and the middle of the combination, and collecting one on the clock as well.
That dropped Ireland to seventh, but the situation was still eminently salvageable. If last man in Cameron Hanley could go clear, then Ireland would be fourth and within striking distance of the medals.
The Mayo man is well used to pressure, and Hippica Kerman has made a meteoric rise up the ranks in the past two seasons, but his relative lack of experience showed yesterday. A mistake at the water and then a rail off four from home left Hanley on the same score as Twomey and Ireland were suddenly in trouble.
The Dutch were well out in front, the Ukrainians were in second and the Americans were challenging strongly in third, but the German commentator's premature announcement that Ireland were in 11th place was greeted with more than a little consternation by team manager Robert Splaine and the Irish connections.
The final Swede still had to jump to confirm the placings and only a Scandinavian disaster would do.
Malin Baryard's Butterfly Flip must have felt the weight of Irish expectations on her back and she obligingly lowered the first part of the double to guarantee Ireland a place in the team final, but, just to be sure, the mare kicked out a few more and threw in a stop for good measure.
So Ireland live to fight again tonight, thanks - in part - to Baryard. If the Swedes can be as obliging at the Samsung Super League final in Barcelona in just over a fortnight, Ireland's future in show jumping's top division looks secure.
And there's still more to celebrate in the Irish camp. Shane Breen goes through to tonight's one-rounder in 10th individually, less than a fence off leading American Beezie Madden and, along with Marie Burke in 19th, he looks a certainty to make the cut for Saturday's top-25.
