Eleven nations brought forth teams to compete Saturday, March 5 in the $150,000 Nations Cup CSIO4*, presented by Premier Equestrian, the highlight event of the eighth week of the 2022 Winter Equestrian Festival.
The flag for Ireland was raised at the end of the night as the team of Andrew Bourns, Cian O’Connor, Eoin McMahon and Max Wachman, led by Chef d’Equipe Michael Blake, won the fourth Nations Cup for Ireland in the 21-year history of the class at WEF.
Teams from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, the United States and Venezuela competed in Round One, and the top eight returned for Round Two under the lights in the International Arena.
Heading into Round Two, Ireland was tied with Canada at zero faults after three clear rounds from McMahon and Beerbaum Stables’s Chakra 9, Wachman and Berlux Z, owned by Coolmore Show Jumping, and Bourns on Sea Topblue, owned by QBS Equestrian LLC. With three clear rounds, O’Connor did not have to compete with Cerruti Van Ter Hulst Z, owned by Ronnoco Jump Ltd.
Just one rail behind and tied for second were Great Britain, Australia and Mexico. Belgium and the United States sat on eight faults, while Argentina had 10 faults. There were 16 clear trips in the first round over the course designed by Nick Granat and Steve Stephens.
Fortunes changed dramatically in the second round as more rails fell, but with solid performances from the Irish team, they came away with the win.
Pathfinder McMahon and Chakra 9 had just one time fault in Round Two. It was an excellent performance for McMahon, who represented Ireland in last year’s European Championships, and his horse, who tallied three clear rounds out of four in two Nations Cup performances in 2021.
“Coming here, it was my plan to jump Chakra in the Nations Cup, so we planned our weeks up to tonight. She has been a very good horse for me,” he said of the 12-year-old Holsteiner mare. “Even though she’s 12, she’s not that experienced. She improved a lot from last year to this year.”
Eighteen-year-old Wachman felt grateful to be a part of Team Ireland, and he gave a stunning double clear performance, one of only five in the class.
Wachman has been riding Berlux Z, an 11-year-old Zangersheide gelding, only since October. Berlux Z was on the team for France under the saddle of Simon Delestre at the Tokyo Olympics. “My horse is a very good horse,” Wachman said. “He has been able to bring me to bigger levels, because he’s quite experienced, and he’s not green. I’m very grateful to be riding him.”
Riding in the third spot for the Irish team, Bourns and Seatop Blue were coming off a strong WEF circuit, having won the CSI4* Grand Prix during week three. They recorded just an unlucky four faults in Round Two.
“I was very happy with him tonight,” said Bourns of the 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding. “This is his first Nations Cup. I was a little worried he might come out in the second round and think it was a jump-off. But, after the second or third fence, I realized that I was right on the money with him.”
O’Connor was the anchor rider for Ireland, and he and Cerruti Van Ter Hulst Z, a 12-year-old Zangersheide mare, entered the ring in Round Two for their first shot at the course. With refusals at fence four, they were eliminated.
“Cerruti has been going quite well,” O’Connor said. “She jumped double clear in the 1.50m and double clear in the WEF and clear in three-stars. I just haven’t showed her the last couple of weeks. I wanted to let her freshen up. That’s always the thing with the schedule here. You don’t want to overjump.”
With 38 Irish riders to choose from competing at WEF, Blake sat in an enviable position with a wealth of choices for his team. He chose horses and riders with solid recent results, but also team members where horses or riders had less experience.
“I like giving opportunities to people who I think deserve them,” he said. “I have to say, we did our job very, very well tonight, and I’m delighted with the boys. Max is 18 years of age, and it was a phenomenal effort from him. Even though Eoin is not a whole lot older, he’s also a veteran. Andrew has been in the United States for quite a while, and we needed his shot. He rode very well. I thought he was a little unlucky to have the last fence down. It would’ve been nice to finish with no pole on the ground, but you know, we still did our job, and we’re very happy. And Cian has always been an amazing, amazing rider for Team Ireland.”
Ireland finished on five total faults for the win. Canada and the United States both had a total of 12 faults after two rounds. The teams’ cumulative times were the tiebreaker, with Canada taking home second place and the U.S. finishing third.
