Ireland win a first medal at the European Eventing Championships in 30 years as they claim silver at Blenheim Palace.
Ireland won a first medal at the European Eventing Championships in 30 years as they claimed silver at Blenheim Palace.
The Irish team, comprised of Padraig McCarthy riding Pomp N Circumstance, Robbie Kearns on Chance Encounter, Aoife Clark riding Full Monty De Lacense and Ian Cassells on Millridge Atlantis, finished second behind Germany with a score of 161.9.
They were second in the standings in England after cross-country day on Saturday and performed well in the show jumping phase on Sunday to win a silver medal.
Ireland's last European Championship team medal came in Italy in 1995 when the quartet of Mark Barry, Virginia McGrath, Eric Smiley and Lucy Thompson claimed the bronze medal.
The gold medal was won by Germany, led by individual silver medallist Michael Jung on FischerChipmunk, who had a final score of 124.9, whilst France took home bronze as they finished on 167.5.
Irish high performance manager Dag Albert expressed his delight at coming away with a silver medal and his team's performance across the weekend.
"What a result. We were quietly confident of coming here and performing well, with a medal of some sort the main aim," he said.
"Obviously before we came here, we knew that Germany would be strong. Eventing is a sport that will always surprise you and sometimes it's a war of attrition.
"They all jumped so well out there today, and with a bit of pressure on because the French were breathing down our necks and we needed to be careful.
"I need to thank so many people who have contributed to this medal win. It's a huge team effort and this one is for everyone."
Category: General Sports
