The Irish showjumping team finished third in the five-star Superleague Nations' Cup competition held in La Baule, France on Friday.
Tipperary's Shane Breen recorded one of just four double clear rounds with the stallion Golden Hawk. Galway-born Michael Duffy (20) jumped clear in the opening round with just one time fault on Alan Burnell's Belcanto Z, while a toe in the water was their only mistake second time out.
Denis Lynch and Thomas Straumann's All Star finished with five faults in round one and lowered a single fence in the second, while Shane Sweetnam and Chaqui Z finished with five faults in both rounds, to leave Ireland on a two-round total of 14 faults.
‘Silly mistakes’
"The guys jumped very good, but we did have some silly mistakes," said team manager Rodrigo Pessoa. "Shane Breen jumped two excellent rounds and young Michael Duffy was unlucky just to have the water in the second round. Denis Lynch and All Star had the same fault in both rounds but they have not jumped much together since their break after the World Cup. Shane Sweetnam's horse jumped well. We put up a good fight to take third. I am getting to know the people and the horses better and it's on now to the next round in Rome."
After two rounds, France and Sweden were tied on eight faults apiece, the former winning the competition following a jump-off.
