Ireland dominate the team standings under new chef d’equipe
A new chef d’equipe helps turn round Ireland’s fortunes and Sweden’s Olympic silver medallist is crowned individual champion in a tense finale
Longines FEI European Showjumping Championships, Gothenburg, Sweden IT has been 16 years since
Ireland have been able to call themselves the European champions. However, that hiatus was euphorically put to bed in Gothenburg thanks to a thrilling finale that culminated a rollercoaster week of fortunes for the Irish quartet.
Below the lights of the Ullevi stadium they proved that under their new chef d’equipe, the showjumping master Rodrigo Pessoa, they are the team to beat.
With no British team in Gothenburg, showjumping fans this side of the Channel fully got behind their Irish neighbours.
Riding a quartet of stallions, Cian O’Connor (Good Luck), Shane Sweetnam (Chaqui Z), Denis Lynch (All Star 5) and Bertram Allen (Hector Van D’Abdijhoeve) did not have the smoothest of paths en route to their team gold medal.
After Bertram and Hector’s team second-round tumble, the Irish were reduced to a trio, meaning there was absolutely no margin for error throughout the tough three days of jumping to decide the medals.
What the Irish team did have in bucket-loads — alongside super horse power — was a strong team ethic; they held it together when they could have easily let the pressure overwhelm them.
‘WE WIN TOGETHER AND WE LOSE TOGETHER’
IT was no secret that their success was very much cemented by Ireland’s new team manager Rodrigo Pessoa, described as a “genius” for turning round Ireland’s underperformance at a major championships — they hadn’t stood on the podium since the 2001 Europeans in Arnhem.
“We have always said ‘we lose together, we win together’ and true to that the Irish team stuck together,” said Rodrigo, who previously managed his home nation Brazil.
“The team gave me the chance to lead them, which was vital because if they hadn’t accepted change this gold medal would not have happened.
“I tried to recreate what I did with the Brazilian team in the
past, working on honesty and transparency between us, but without forcing anything, and keeping everything relaxed.”
A treble of clears in the final team round put pressure on Sweden and Switzerland, who were holding the top spots on the podium, and it was eventually pressure they conceded to.
“I can only put them [the riders] at the gate with their mind clear and a good plan in place,” added Rodrigo. “They are the ones who have to execute it. They are all great riders and horses but once they go into that stadium, it is down to them to get the job done.”
Team stalwart Cian O’Connor produced the winning clear round aboard the 11-year-old son of Canturo, guaranteeing Ireland the gold medal before Switzerland and Sweden’s final riders had even entered the stadium.
The 37-year-old’s medal haul did not stop here; he became the only rider in Ireland’s history books to win an individual and team medal at the same senior European Championships.
He came excruciatingly close to having the individual gold medal placed around his neck, when holding the silver spot during Sunday’s final round, but one unlucky pole at a flimsy upright prevented him from taking the gold medal double.
Cian settled for bronze while the Swedish home crowd had an evening that will never perish from their memories, witnessing the exhilarating scenes of their own Peder Fredricson clinching gold — a medal he had a tight grip on throughout the championship.
His Olympic silver-medal mount, H&M All In, had jumped with exception throughout the tough week and it was a highly deserved podium position for both the former event rider and a horse who, over the winter, had fought back from stomach surgery.
‘The team gave me the chance to lead them’
IRISH CHEF RODRIGO PESSOA