Ireland have won the Aga Khan Trophy for the first time since 2012 after a superb performance today at the RDS.
A double clear round from Greg Broderick, on his Aga Khan debut, anchored the four-man team to a comfortable victory today at the Dublin Horse Show.
Olympic bronze medallist Cian O’Connor brought home the trophy with his final round of 4 faults meaning that Darragh Kenny wasn’t even required to ride again to secure victory.
Greg Broderick celebrates with the Aga Khan trophy after victory in the FEI Nations Cup.
The first round saw Ireland establish their lead, with Broderick on Mhs Going Global, O’Connor on Good Luck and Kenny on Sans Soucis Z all going clear.
That meant that 20-year-old Bertram Allen’s four faults were discounted for a first round total of zero faults.
Netherlands (4 faults) and Great Britain (5 faults) gave closest chase into the second round of jumps but Allen’s clear round on Romanov followed by Broderick’s faultless performance gave Ireland a large lead.
Cian O’Connor onboard Good Luck celebrates after his winning run.
Thus O’Connor’s four faults were enough to secure the win on his 100th Nations Cup appearance, as Ireland took the €64,000 prize by that four-fault margin.
The Dutch, helped by Wout-Jan van der Schans’ double clear, finished on 8 faults to place second, while Switzerland (13 faults) moved up to third.
Ireland’s victory gives them plenty of momentum ahead of the European Championships in Aachen, where Olympic qualification is on the line.
Ireland WON THE NATIONS CUP @DublinHorseShow! SO PROUD! #horses #RDS #TopClass #bertramallen #agakhan pic.twitter.com/zETLmOX5zK
— Rebecca Winckworth (@RWinckworth) August 7, 2015