Splaine names Investec Irish team for tomorrow’s vital European Championships
SHOW jumping team manager Robert Splaine this evening (Tuesday) named his team of four to represent Ireland at the European Show Jumping Championships, which begin on Wednesday in Aachen, Germany.
In what may be an historic week for the sport, Splaine is counting on his four riders and horses to book a place for their country at the Rio Olympics by finishing in the top three of those nations not already qualified.
However, Irish hopes are high as Splaine has named three of the riders and two of the horses that scooped the Aga Khan Cup at Dublin this month after a gap of three years.
The Investec Irish team at Aachen will line out as:
(owned by Thomas Straumann)
(owned by Caledonia Stables)
(owned by Adena Springs)
Ireland’s fifth man on the squad, Offaly’s Darragh Kenny with Caroline E. Loyd’s Sans Soucis Z, will be able to compete in the non-championship classes at Aachen.
The European team competition features four riders per nation and the event consists of three rounds – Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with Wednesday’s being based on time only (for each fence down, four faults are added to riders’ time).
Faults are carried forward from each day to the next, and in all rounds – as in standard Nations’ Cups – a team can discard the score of the rider with the highest faults.
The Team final takes place on Friday and  the Individual final will take place on Sunday.
(For full European championship rules click here)
Ireland last won the European show jumping championships in 2001 at Arnhem in the Netherlands.
