Show Jumping Super League finalFor the first time since the Athens gold medal disaster, Irish show jumping supporters will be hoping for a positive result when Team Ireland battle against relegation in the Samsung Super League final in Barcelona tomorrow afternoon.
Chef d'equipe John Ledingham names his team for the final showdown at four o'clock this afternoon, and the chosen quartet will have to finish no lower than fifth and ahead of the Belgians and Dutch if Team Ireland are to stay in the Super League next season.
Even though Ireland are currently last and favourites to be dumped into the second division, Ledingham is bullish about his team's chances.
"All we have to do is beat the course-builder," Ledingham said yesterday. "We've got a good team here and we won't leave any stone unturned to get a result. I'd like to think we could win or be second."
Detractors would dismiss such a statement as naive optimism, but Ledingham is basing his belief on the result in Aachen last month when a stop at the final fence for anchorman Billy Twomey dropped Ireland from a potential second to a definitive last at the German fixture.
With a rub of the green in Spain tomorrow, Ireland could reverse the run of fortune that has left them languishing at the bottom of the rankings. Double points will be on offer at the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona, venue for the equestrian events at the 1992 Olympics, and that could make the difference between triumph and disaster.
Just four points cover the bottom three teams, but the Dutch, currently 3½ ahead of Ireland, field a team that boast European bronze medallist Jeroen Dubbeldam and Gerco Schroder, who produced a double clear in Aachen.
"The Dutch and the Belgians are the two strongest teams here," Ledingham said from the Barcelona Polo Club yesterday.
If relegation can be staved off, it would be the best possible antidote to the bad press surrounding the sport in recent months. Jessica Kurten and Harry Marshall have made their feelings plain with their refusal to ride on teams with Cian O'Connor following the loss of his gold medal after the positive test on Waterford Crystal.
Kurten and Marshall have also refused to ride under the current selection regime, and although Marshall had a change of heart and put himself forward for the Barcelona showdown, the selectors told him his offer had come too late.
With Kurten and Marshall out of the picture, world champion Dermott Lennon, who won in Barcelona on the opening day, is in the shake-up for team selection along with Billy Twomey, Shane Breen, Capt Shane Carey and O'Connor.
Carey's team-mates are all rallying round the Army captain, whose father, Seán, died on Thursday night after a long illness.
Carey flew back to Ireland yesterday morning to be with his family in Crecora, Co Limerick. The funeral has been postponed until Monday, so that Carey can return to Barcelona today in his bid for a place on the team.
Nine nations line out tomorrow to tackle a course set by Spaniard Abelino Rodriguez Miravalles, but the Spanish hosts are not part of the Super League and will not earn points.
If Ireland is relegated tomorrow, the same would apply at the Dublin Horse Show in 2006. The Super League would still return to Dublin next August, with Ireland being offered a wild card entry but no Super League points.
The Swedes head the second division. If they remain out in front over the final three competitions, which finish in Buenos Aires in mid-November, they will be promoted to Super League status, replacing the team that finishes last in tomorrow's final rankings. Ledingham isn't alone in hoping that won't be Ireland.
