Show Jumping: Ireland's pony riders were in flying form over the weekend, with teenager Mili McIntyre unlucky not to add a Grand Prix success to her win on Friday at the German fixture in Aach.
The 16-year-old Kilkenny rider forced a head-to-head with Dutch rider Frank Schuttert for yesterday's feature Grand Prix, but when both had a fence down against the clock, it was the Dutch challenger who had the speed to win out by almost two seconds, relegating McIntyre to the runner-up slot with Millennium Flight.
McIntyre then joined forces with her fellow Friday winner Andrew Latta, along with Peter Moloney and Paddy McDonagh, for yesterday's Nations Cup.
Latta missed out on a double clear only by a single time fault and McDonagh produced a clear and four, but it wasn't enough to keep the Irish in the hunt, with the team ending up fifth on 24 faults, some way off the pace set by the winning Italians on a two-round total of five.
Anthony Condon provided the best Irish result at the European junior and young rider championships in Athens when claiming Saturday's young rider farewell speed class with Whinnie Jackson.
Senior rider Niall Talbot was also in the winner's enclosure at the Italian fixture in Codroipo, scoring with Kalinka de Chaumes from compatriot Ciarán Howley on Libra 5, while Dave Quigley, winner of last week's San Sebastian Grand Prix, just missed out on the double when finishing second in Roanne-Vougy, France, yesterday.
On the national circuit, senior team manager Robert Splaine returned from steering the B team to Nations Cup victory in Lummen, Belgium, at the end of June to score in the Roche Ireland Grand Prix down in Ennis, winning out in a six-horse jump-off with the stallion Clarion Hotels Coolcorron Cool Diamond.
And, on the eventing front, performance manager Lars Christensson last night announced his squad of six riders for the world equestrian games in Aachen, Germany at the end of August. Punchestown winner Sacha Pemble heads the squad and is joined by Mark Kyle, Niall Griffin, Michael Ryan, Sarah Wardell and championship newcomer Lieutenant Geoff Curran.
