In this weekend’s Falsterbo, Ireland’s team of horses and their riders are truly up against it as they bid to earn enough points to help ensure Ireland’s participation in the 2017 Division 1 Nations Cup Series.

There has been plenty of noise about why team manager Robert Splaine opted for the Munster four of Billy Twomey, Anthony Condon, Shane Sweeetnam and Shane Breen along with Offaly’s Darragh Kenny instead of the A Team quartet that won so brilliantly in St Gallen.

As Richard Quest always says on his CNN program, “quiet the noise and let us make sense of it all.” So in order to make sense of it, we asked Splaine himself.

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Speaking to The Irish Horse from the Longines Global Champions Tour at Paris, Robert Splaine said: “Our remit is to broaden our base and include a bigger pool of horses and riders. We have a depth of talent and it is being called upon in Falsterbo where we are under pressure to get a good result.”

Shane Breen goes with Golden Hawk; Anthony Condon brings his recent winner Aristio; Darragh Kenny has Jos Lansink’s Go Easy de Muze; Shane Sweetnam is on his good performer in Florida Chaqui Z and Billy Twomey goes with the stallion Diaghilev that he jumped in the Global Champions Tour at Paris last weekend. So we have a mixture of what is tried and new. Also seeking points at the Swedish venue will be the home side plus Division 1 leaders Holland along with Switzerland and the Czech Republic.

Uphill battle

With only our St Gallen win in the bag at the moment, Ireland are lying just above the elimination point in seventh place on the Division 1 League table on 100 points.

Holland lead on 260 and if we are to remain in contention for one of the seven places in the Barcelona final, we will need to pick up good placings at both Falsterbo and Dublin. As to our Dublin team, Splaine noted: “I am keeping my cards close to my chest on that for the moment.”

On other matters he said that it was too early to predict whether or not the problems in Ukraine could make a team place available to Ireland in the Rio Olympics for which we are first reserve.

“It will be July 18 or more before we know that,” he said. In terms of an extra individual place, he was holding out no great hope.

But for now it is a matter of trying to secure our place in the 2017 Nations Cup League for which no sponsor has yet been announced.

The Furusiyya four-year backing of the event negotiated by Princess Haya comes to an end this season and the new Saudi leadership has as yet given no indication that they will renew.

Meanwhile, the Irish universities team of Ian Cassells, Kelly Hutchinson and Tori Dixon led the way to Sweden by taking silver in the team championship there last weekend. Cassells also took silver in dressage.

North American circuit

Co Down show jumper Conor Swail continued to pile up the dollars on the North American circuit when placing second with the stallion Grafton behind America’s Kent Farrington in the $375,000 Pan American Cup at Spruce Meadows, Calgary.

But there was no luck for the Irish at the Longines Global Champions Tour in Paris last weekend.

Bertram Allen went out in the first round of seven faults with Romanov. Billy Twomey was a bit unlucky to not make the cut into the second round on just four on Diaghilev.

Having had a number of faults, Denis Lynch retired with All Star 5.

However, he brought the stallion out to deliver a fast clear for fourth in Sunday’s speed event behind French winner Roger Yves Bost on another stallion, Peguse du Murier.

In Belgium, both Cian O’Connor on Good Luck and Greg Broderick on MHS Going Global jumped double clears in the five-star Grand Prix in Knokke to finish sixth and eighth respectively.