Team Ireland’s sensational season has continued as they became winners of the Spruce Meadows’ BMO Nations Cup for the first time since 2001.
“The pride to win a Nations Cup is insurmountable to me. It’s the drug that I get out of doing this job,” said Irish chef d’equipe Michael Blake.
It was a turbulent opening for many of the seven teams in the Spruce Meadows’ international arena on Saturday afternoon (9 September), with falls from three different nations – and the surprise loss of defending champions Sweden, who produced the lowest score and failed to make it to the second round.
Ireland came into round two on just one time-penalty, but a man down, after Conor Swail and Calciet EB Z fell at the water. Behind them was Canada on four-faults, with Mario Deslauriers and Emerson having a fence, and Erynn Ballard and Gakhir, Amy Millar and Truman, and Tiffany Foster and Figor, posting superb clear rounds, to the delight of the jubilant home crowd.
In the second round Daniel Coyle produced a convincing clear with the reliable 13-year-old mare Legacy to keep Irish hopes firmly alive, while Denis Lynch added four-faults to the tally when 14-year-old gelding Brooklyn Heights knocked the front bar of the square Rolex oxer three from home. However, Germany was soon knocking at the door with solid fault-free rounds from Richard Vogel and Cepano Baloubet, Kendra Claricia Brinop and In Time, and Hans-Dieter Dreher and Elysium. It was down to Ireland’s anchorman Bertram Allen and the experienced 11-year-old gelding Pacino Amiro to bring home the goods as silence fell across the arena, and the pair kept the pace up and delivered under pressure to seal the deal.
“I felt the pressure, but I had great confidence in my horse. He was jumping very good in the first round, and then even better in the warm-up for the second round, so it was a good feeling and I trusted that I could do it,” said Bertram.
Denis said confidence was high from the off, with plenty of experience behind them. All the Irish combinations bar Conor and Calciet EB Z were part of the team at the World Championships in Herning last year.
“We all had a really good feeling from the beginning of the week. We came with a plan, and without brilliant teammates this doesn’t happen. I remember on Thursday morning before breakfast Bertram said to me, ‘I have a really good feeling, I think we can win this’,” said Denis.
“Michael changed the team somewhat around, which isn’t the easiest thing to do when there’s five or six riders here. He had to make some big calls, and he made them, and they were the right decision. When it comes off, it’s even sweeter. A lot of the times you can do everything right, everything’s great and going perfect but then you touch a pole, and you don’t win. And when you do win, as a team it’s a pretty incredible thing to do for your country – that’s what it’s all about.”
Britain fourth on return to Spruce Meadows
Although Ben Maher and Exit Remo produced a super second-round clear, it wasn’t to be for the Brits with the team of Ben, Matt Sampson and Equine America Ivanhoe GPH, Sameh El Dahan and WKD Toronto, and John Whitaker and Equine America Unick Du Francport, collecting faults across the board to settle for fourth in Britain’s first Spruce Meadows’ Nations Cup appearance in recent years.
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