In a low-scoring Nations Cup, first-round faults often put a team in a hole from which it can prove difficult to climb out. And so it was for Ireland in its points-gaining FEI Furusiyya league outing at Falsterbo, Sweden, last weekend.

Despite four foot-perfect second-round clears from Shane Sweetnam, Darragh Kenny, Anthony Condon and Shane Breen, the Irish still finished a disappointing joint-sixth with Germany behind the winning Swiss.

This means that Ireland also lie sixth in the league, just within the cut-off group of seven that will go to the final in Barcelona next autumn.

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So, like many times before, it all comes down to how we do at next week’s Dublin Horse Show (20-24 July).

Fifth team member, Billy Twomey, who ended up doing the FEI TV commentary, could not hide his shock when both Sweetnam on Chaqui Z and Kenny on Go Easy De Muze returned with nine faults each.

Matters improved dramatically after that with a beautiful clear from Anthony Condon on Aristio and an unlucky four by Shane Breen on Golden Hawk.

However, in the meantime, Switzerland, Sweden and Brazil all ended the round on zero scores, while Germany and the Netherlands were on four.

All of this meant that Ireland went into the break in a dismal seventh place along with struggling Czech Republic.

In a burst of determined brilliance to prove that they could do it, all four team members came home clear second time out.

The cliché that it was all too late was never more true. With the benefit of a single time fault incurred by Germany’s final rider Janne Friederike Meyer, we were boosted up to joint-sixth on our first-round 13 faults.

Switzerland won it on zero score and delivering a double-clear for them was the Irish-bred mare Castlefield Eclipse, ridden by Paul Estermann.

Kenny takes third

In other action at Falsterbo, Offaly’s Darragh Kenny was third in the €200,000 Longines Grand Prix with Go Easy De Muze, double-clear in 45.85 seconds behind popular Swedish winner Rolf-Goran Bengtsson on Clarimo Ask, who collected the winner’s cheque of €66,000. Brazil’s Eduardo Menezes finished as runner-up with Quintol.

Kenny was joined in the jump-off by Anthony Condon after the Waterford native jumped clear in the opening round with the John Hales-owned Aristio. They finished with one fence down when chasing the target time as second-last to go and eventually finished eighth overall.

Cork’s Shane Sweetman had a pair of speed wins on Cyklon, also second in the Derby. Tipperary’s Shane Breen had a speed win with Market Irminka.

Bronze for Allen

Bertram Allen’s goal of topping the Global Champions Tour League came a bit closer with a podium finish in the 11th round at Estoril, Portugal, last Saturday. With the lively nine-year-old grey stallion Hector Van d’Abdijhoeve, he had one of just three treble-clears to place third behind Italy’s Giorgio Bucci and Edwina Tops-Alexander. He was one of 13 to go clear first time out and joined a list of seven that repeated in the second round. Drawn second-last to go in the barrage, he had Bucci’s time on Cassal of 49.07 to beat. A couple of bucks along the way by Hector slowed progress just enough to have him home in 50.14 behind Edwina, who was around in 50.08 for second that helped her top the league. Bertram holds fourth place as the series heads for Valkenswaard.

Elsewhere, Daniel Coyle and Cameron Hanley scored wins in Canada and the Netherlands.