Equestrian SportA place on the 2008 Olympic startlist was snatched away from Team Ireland in the cruelest possible fashion at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany last night when they finished sixth - one place away from a ticket to Beijing - in the team finals.
Course designer Frank Rothenburger had seriously beefed up his track for the floodlit team decider. The fences had gone up by five centimetres and were 10cms wider. The medals weren't going to be easily won.
But after superb performances on the opening two days, it all went wrong last night for Irish pathfinder Shane Breen and World Cruise. His jaw set in grim determination, the Co Tipperary rider was in perfect harmony with the lovely grey until fence eight, the massive combination going away from the in-gate.
The 11-year-old son of Cruising landed on the back rail of the first element to groans from the Irish supporters, but then he also rubbed off the front rail from the last part. Eight faults. But it wasn't over yet. World Cruise trailed off the back rail from the big yellow oxer three from home and it was 12. Not the start team manager Robert Splaine wanted.
Suddenly, promotion up from overnight 10th to fifth - the last qualifying slot on offer for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing - was slipping away from the Irish.
As Marie Burke cantered into the arena, the only hint that she was feeling any pressure was the flushed cheeks on her usually pale Irish skin.
The Co Clare rider only got to the championships when Jessica Kurten, Marion Hughes and, at the last minute, Cian O'Connor went out, but she came up with the best possible antidote to Breen's round - a supremely confident clear that put the fight back in the Irish and boosted Team Ireland up to eighth at the halfway stage. But Billy Twomey and Cameron Hanley needed to follow suit and it was a big ask. Both are riders at the top of their game, but neither had managed to conjure up a clear in the preceding two days.
Twomey, the hero at the Samsung Super League finals in Barcelona almost exactly a year ago, rode the round of his life, but Luidam just tickled the rail off the top of the wall four from home and added one on the clock.
So it was all up to Cameron Hanley and the Mayo man gave it his all to produce a foot-perfect clear with SIEC Hippica Kerman that put Ireland back in the hunt for the Beijing ticket.
Now all Splaine and his team could do was hope the other countries would pick up enough faults to allow Ireland through. The Brazilians had already obliged, but then the British did too and so did the Spanish. Was there was a chink of light? Alas no. There were still five teams ahead and no matter how hard the Irish prayed, they weren't going to move out of the way.
Sixth in the world was a fantastic result, but one place higher and Beijing was on the cards. Now Team Ireland has to wait until the European championships in Mannheim next summer for another - and final chance - to qualify for 2008.
The Dutch, leaders from the outset, held on for team gold, with the USA in silver and hosts Germany in bronze.
Marie Burke, in 10th overnight, is guaranteed a place in tomorrow's top-25 individual semi-final, but the 42-year-old mother-of-one is the sole member of the Irish quartet to make the cut.
WORLD EQUESTRIAN GAMES, Aachen, Germany Show jumping, team final - 1, Netherlands, 11.01 faults; 2, USA, 18.85; 3, Germany, 19.16; 4, Ukraine, 19.17; 5, Switzerland, 24.89; 6, Ireland, 29.08. Individuals - 1, USA's Authentic (Beezie Madden), 0 faults; 2, Netherlands' Eurocommerce Berlin (Gerco Schroder), 0.43; 3, Germany's L'Espoir (Ludger Beerbaum), 2.70; Irish placings - 10, Chippison (Marie Burke), 5.71; 33, SIEC Hippica Kerman (Cameron Hanley), 14.38; 36, World Cruise (Shane Breen), 15.99; 49, Luidam (Billy Twomey), 21.62.
