Underdogs Ireland triumph
Team tactics and nerves of steel pay off for the Emerald Isle riders as they battle to victory in a hard-fought contest
IRELAND came to Gothenburg as the underdogs but they returned home to the Emerald
Isle as leaders of the pack having clinched gold during an epic battle in which strength, bravery and determination conquered all.
There was jubilation on a meteoric scale as the Irishmen held their nerve, brushed off the pressure like it was dirt on their shoe and dazzled the Swedish venue with their brilliance.
The Irish fortunes here were in stark contrast to those in 2015 at the European Championships in Aachen, where Cian O’Connor, Denis Lynch and Bertram Allen were all part of the seventh-placed Irish quartet, amid drama and turbulence that resulted in them missing out on a qualification for last year’s Rio Olympics.
If ever a team has risen from the ashes under a new chef d’équipe, this is it. Rodrigo Pessoa has revitalised team Ireland, ensuring they arrived in Sweden prepared and ready to do battle — even when things did not go to plan, they held it together under immense pressure and, ultimately, that was the vital ingredient to their success.
The newly crowned champions kicked off their campaign with promise during the opening qualifying speed leg, when a brilliant clear round came courtesy of Florida-based Shane Sweetnam and his ride since 2014, Chaqui Z.
Both Denis (All Star 5) and Cian (Good Luck) were victims of the tricky combination at fence 12.
Bertram was making a return to the European Championships albeit with a different ride, the relatively inexperienced Hector Van D’Abdijhoeve, but things did not go as planned from the outset when “Hector” refused at an oxer going away from the arena entrance.
Switzerland held the top podium position at this early stage, thanks to a trio of clears from Romain Duguet (Twentytwo Des Biches), Martin Fuchs (Clooney 51) and Steve Guerdat (Bianca).
WORKING AS A TEAM
COURSE-DESIGNER Louis Koninckx created what riders described as a “tough course” for the first leg of the team competition in which the time proved particularly influential.
The Irish went into this initial team round just outside the medals in fourth, but by the end of the day the eventual victors were reduced to three riders, when Bertram — who was hoping to put his day-one troubles behind him — experienced a tumble.
The pair looked to be enjoying a solid round until the 10-yearold grey stallion took an instant dislike to an unassuming yellowcoloured oxer. After refusing, the 22-year-old rider represented but Hector put down going over it, demolishing the fence and throwing Bertram up in the air and out of the side door, resulting in elimination — the combination withdrew from the rest of the competition.
“I’ve been in that position at Bertram’s age and that’s what we’re here for — your teammates pull you through,” said
Cian. “I’m sure there will be times in the future when Bertram bails us out.”
Irish trailblazer Shane Sweetnam and the ultra-talented Chaqui Z stamped their mark on the team proceedings when they produced another cracking clear round, showing his team-mates how it should be done.
“‘Chaqui’ is a beautiful horse to ride — he’s so adjustable and turns quickly,” commented Shane. “He’s a dream really and probably the easiest horse I’ve had to ride.
“The time allowed in there is tight, especially for scopey horses. I felt like I was going for it everywhere and finished just inside,” he added, reflecting on the time-penalties racked up by riders on day two.
Competing at his fifth European Championships, Cian put right his previous day’s four faults to leave all the fences intact, while Denis and his long-term mount All Star 5 frustratingly tapped the final element — it was a costly fence that otherwise would have seen Ireland top the leaderboard overnight.
The 2016 Olympic champions France crashed out of medal contention having held silver overnight, dropping down to eighth after three of their riders — Mathieu Billot, Roger Yves
Bost and Pénélope Leprevost — incurred nine penalties each over the towering 1.60m track.
“My horse [Vagabond de la Pomme] was spooky today,” said Pénélope, who had a stop at the water jump. “For some reason — particularly at the water — he was a spooky young horse but we’ve never had a problem at water before like that.”
It was Kevin Staut, the highest ranked rider at the championships, who maintained French pride by pulling a clear from the bag aboard Reveur De Hurtebise HDC.
There was a further reshuffle in the team standings because, much to the delight of the home crowd, Sweden leapfrogged to the top of the leaderboard ahead of Switzerland thanks to a trio of clear jumping rounds.
‘WE WERE QUIETLY CONFIDENT’
THERE was an agonising wait until the team medal decider on Friday evening and Rodrigo Pessoa’s Irishmen had their foot on the podium, albeit sharing the bronze medal going into the final team day with Belgium — the only team to complete the first round on a clean sheet.
An Irish team dinner the night before the final was where tactics for the three-man team were discussed.
“We actually thought the lights in the stadium would be to our advantage and the big atmosphere in there might catch out some horses,” reflected Cian. “The three stallions we had in the final are all very brave and scopey — we were quietly confident that we could do the business.”
With 3.9 penalties separating the medal positions, there was no room for error and Louis Koninckx once again set a true championship track, minus a water jump — much to the delight of Swiss rider Martin Fuchs, who rode Clooney 51 up to the water on the opening day as if he was in the Grand National.
The penultimate fence, a flimsy up-to-height upright, caught out any horses lacking in energy.
Ireland’s success story in the final began with Shane Sweetnam once again doing a superb job as trailblazer of the Irish trio. His willing mount, a son of Chacco Blue, lit up in the expansive Ullevi Stadium, with Shane ensuring he was quick away from each fence. It was an impressive treble of clear rounds from three days of intense competition and they deservedly finished best of the Irish.
“It was very stressful all week — things didn’t go perfectly each day, which worried everyone a bit,” said Shane. “The night before, we said we’d keep fighting for this — the Irish are always better as the underdogs and we proved that.”
When Swiss rider Romain Duguet had two fences down, it left the door open for Ireland.
Cantering into the stadium with serious conviction, Denis steered All Star 5 to a corking clear round, although a growl of “come on” from the Irishman a few strides before the final oxer echoed around the stadium, leaving the Irish fans on the edge of their seats.
Even for a tight-lipped Irishman, the delight of pulling a clear from the bag when it mattered was evident and when
Sweden’s Douglas Lindelöw knocked two down, Denis’ nifty clear propelled the Irish to the gold medal position.
“I feel disappointed and angry,” said Douglas. “He felt good from the start but just didn’t make the combination — he felt empty going over the oxer and I lost a stirrup, so I was pleased I at least held it together.”
The question was then, could Cian produce the clear round that would guarantee Ireland the European champion title?
The answer? Of course he could. Cian bats away pressure like it’s an annoying fly.
As soon as Cian and Good Luck had touched down after the last, the gold medal was around the necks of the Irish, with the final riders from Switzerland and Sweden still to come.
The home nation’s seasoned final rider Peder Fredricson used his championship experience to keep the poles intact, maintaining the silver medal for Sweden.
“Getting a medal at our home championships has been a goal the whole year,” said Peder. “So to do it in front of the Swedish crowds was special.”