Showjumping: King Billy was re-born in Barcelona yesterday. Billy Twomey had the future of Irish show jumping resting on his shoulders and it weighed heavy, but not heavy enough to prevent the mare Anastasia jumping the clear round needed to keep Ireland in the Samsung Super League next season.

But it was a skin-of-the-teeth job. A share of fourth with the Germans at the finish provided Ireland with just enough points to scrape ahead of the Belgians in the overall league rankings by a margin so slim as to be almost anorexic. Just 1.5 points meant the difference between life in the Super League or the bleak prospect of relegation. At the close of play yesterday, Team Ireland were safely cocooned in the Super League for 2006 and the Belgians were out in the cold.

It had been nip and tuck all the way. Shane Breen and the Cruising gelding World Cruise had got Ireland off to a dream start with a stunning clear, but then the knitting started to unravel. Cian O'Connor and Echo Beach, who earned their call-up with a one-fence fault in Friday night's Grand Prix, racked up 16, leaving Capt Shane Carey and Billy Twomey to pick up the pieces. They both returned fours to keep Ireland in the hunt at the break, sharing third with league leaders, America.

The Netherlands, just 3.5 points clear of the Irish in the league standings going into the final, held the advantage on four faults with European silver medallists Switzerland. But even in third, the Irish couldn't afford to be complacent. With the Dutch out in front and the Belgians in sixth, nothing was certain.

After Breen had picked up four, O'Connor halved his first round score for eight, but then Carey, who had flown back to Barcelona after the death of his father Seán on Thursday night, racked up a discard 16.

Even though the Belgians were looking vulnerable when Kristof Cleeren failed to complete either round, last-man-in Twomey had no margin for error.

But Twomey (28) is used to pressure. He did the necessary with a double clear in Dublin last year to clinch a home win in the Aga Khan and, even though victory wasn't an option yesterday, a zero was the only score that would work. And zero was what Twomey provided, steering Anastasia to probably the most important clear of her life to clinch equal-fourth and guarantee a Super League berth for next year.

And, just to put the icing on a very rich cake, there was an Irish one-two in the Estoril Grand Prix in Portugal, where Jessica Kurten and Trevor Coyle filled the top two slots.

Back in Barcelona, the Dutch held on to win the final, but it was the Americans, newcomers to the league this season and joint-second yesterday with Team Switzerland, who took the 100,000 Swiss franc winner's purse for overall league victory.