Dublin, Ireland—July 22
Italy pipped Ireland in a jump-off at the penultimate leg of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Europe Division 1 League at the Royal Dublin Society showgrounds in Dublin.
With both countries on a zero score after two hard-fought rounds, the result was decided in a head-to-head between Denis Lynch and Piergiorgio Bucci. And it was heartbreak for the host nation when Lynch’s horse, All Star, ducked out at the final fence, leaving the gate wide open for his Italian rival. Bucci took his time with a careful clear with his stallion Casallo Z.
This was Italy’s fifth victory in the 90-year history of the Aga Khan Cup, which is awarded to the winning side at the Irish fixture. The first Italian team to lift the coveted trophy back in 1955 included the legendary Lt. Raimondo D’Inzeo and Merano, and the last was posted back in 2009 when Bucci was also in the team.
The Italians came to Dublin knowing they were in danger of relegation to Europe Division 2 if they couldn’t pull something special out of the bag today. Their win has now boosted their chances of remaining in the top league, with one more points-gaining opportunity remaining at Hickstead (England).
The United States overcame immense pressure to tie with Sweden for third. The team of Georgina Bloomberg, Lauren Hough, Laura Kraut and Jessica Springsteen battled a tough field to extend the country’s podium success in Nations Cup competition.
“Obviously, we always want to win and be in the jump-off,” said U.S. Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland. “The Irish and Italians were very strong, and we knew that going in. We had a couple 9-year-old [horses]. To have a podium finish, I was very proud of them and their performance.”
The U.S. team put up an impressive first-round effort. Hough, Wellington, Fla., and Ohlala were the pathfinders. The combination started strong with zero faults on the board. Springsteen, Colts Neck, N.J., and Cynar ran into trouble though when they were eliminated for two refusals at the water jump, obstacle 10.
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With the pressure on, the seasoned combination of Bloomberg and Lilli posted a clear round to keep the team on zero faults. Kraut, Royal Palm Beach, Fla., and Cavalia executed their job perfectly as the anchor combination, also posting zero faults.
The United States entered the second round tied for first place with Ireland and Italy. But Hough and Ohlala were unable to match their first-round performance and finished with 8 faults when they had rails down at the oxers at 3 and 7. Springsteen and Cynar did not jump a second round, so it was up to Bloomberg, of New York City, and Kraut to carry the team through.
Bloomberg and Lilli also faulted at fence 7, but a brilliant double clear from Kraut and Cavalia gave them a final total of 12.
“To not have [Cynar] go in the second round put huge pressure on the other three so that every fault was going to count from that point on,” said Ridland. “That’s Nations Cup pressure, in front of an absolutely packed house in Dublin, one of the most important Nations Cups of the calendar year.”
Sweden added 8 to their first-round 4-fault effort to also finish on 12, ahead of the teams from Great Britain and the Netherlands, which tied on 16 faults.
“For us to end up in the medals and tied for third is a great finish,” said Ridland. “Laura’s double clear on Cavalia and it being [Cavalia’s] first Nations Cup, and only being 9 years old, it was just a tremendous finish.”
Ireland’s Lynch, however, was hard on himself in the aftermath.
“That’s something that All Star has never done,” he said, referring to the run-out at the final fence in the jump-off. “I probably could have made a stride more; I wanted to put pressure on the Italians. Obviously I’m very, very disappointed, but it’s one of those things. I want to apologize to my team. I let them down.”
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Irish Chef d’Equipe Robert Splaine said, “I’d be a lot happier if that trophy was sitting here in front of me but it’s not. Congratulations to the Italians. They were great, and they fought back pound for pound. The Irish were great too; it was a tough battle as we expected. There’s been a lot of talk all week that we were favorites, but I knew it was going to be extremely tough, and it turned out it was. We are not happy to be second, but we were beaten by a very good team on the day.”
Italian Chef d’Equipe Roberto Arioldi was delighted with his side. “Winning here at Dublin means a lot to any team, and I’m very proud of my team today,” he said.
And Bruno Chimirri was particularly pleased with his stallion Tower Mouche, who jumped only the early part of the track in the first round to familiarize himself with the arena because his services weren’t required as Italy already had a zero on the board. He then returned in Round 2 to produce that critical clear.
“It was a very satisfying performance in my horse’s very first Nations Cup,” said the 44-year-old rider.
Ireland’s Cian O’Connor commented, “The Italians were great. They came here fighting, and they were the better team on the day in that jump-off. That’s how it goes sometimes. It’s the ups and downs of sport.”
Course designer Alan Wade agreed. “It played out to an exciting finale,” he said. “Very rarely even in the second round would it come down to the last two horses having to go clear to have a jump-off, and normally at that stage in Nations Cup jumping someone cracks and the pressure tells, but today it didn’t. Both teams stood up to the pressure, and it was exciting. The crowd got good value for money, and it was great sport. Some of the weaker teams, while they had fences down, I hope it was a learning experience for them.”
