SHOW JUMPING/Super League: A fourth-place finish in the Dutch Nations Cup moved Ireland's show jumpers off the bottom rung of the Samsung Super League in Rotterdam yesterday, promoting them to seventh in the league standings.
It looked at the break as though the Irish, then sharing second with the Germans, were set for a high placing to follow Harry Marshall's win in the earlier, two-phase class.
In the Cup itself, Marshall and Clem McMahon notched up first-round clears to leave the Irish quartet just one fence adrift of the Swiss at half-time. But only Jessica Kurten produced a clean sheet at the second time of asking and the team slid to fourth with a combined total of 16 faults.
The Swiss held on to win by a single point from joint-runners-up Germany and Belgium, but Ireland's best placing of the series so far has at least got them off the bottom of the rankings and away from the immediate danger of the relegation zone.
SUPER LEAGUE NATIONS CUP (at Rotterdam): 1, Switzerland, 11 faults; equal 2, Germany and Belgium, 12; 4, Ireland - Anastasia lll; Billy Twomey, 10/4; Ado Annie; Harry Marshall, 0/8; Gelvin Clover; Clem McMahon, 0/8; Castle Forbes Maike; Jessica Kurten, 4/0 - 16; 5, France, 24; 6, Holland, 28; 7, Britain, 30; 8, USA, 36.
Two-phase: 1, Ireland's All Shook Up (Harry Marshall), 28.80 seconds; 2, USA's Promised Land (Christine Tribble), 29.04; 3, Ireland's Killy Jones (Billy Twomey), 29.34; 5, Ireland's Hermes de Reve (Clem McMahon), 29.57.
