Text © World of Showjumping

It’s been quite a few days for Ireland’s High-Performance Jumping Director Michael Blake who returned to Europe from Canada at the beginning of this week, straight from a win in the CSIO4* Nations Cup at Thunderbird Show Park in Vancouver, then went on to La Baule – at the other side of the Atlantic. There a new squad consisting of Bertram Allen (29), Seamus Hughes Kennedy (22), Tom Wachman (20) and Cian O’Connor (45) were waiting for him – ready to represent Ireland in the CSIO5* 1.60m Barrière Nations Cup at Jumping International de La Baule 2025. The Irish boys did not disappoint Blake after his long travel; on Friday they were flawless to win this historical and prestigious Nations Cup for the first time since 2011, making all those airmiles worthwhile. 

“I’m so, so, happy,” Blake said after winning the Nations Cup. “It’s probably the only Nations Cup I have been unsuccessful in time and time again. The last time we won this Nations Cup, Tom was apparently six, Seamus was eight and Bertram probably twelve – just to put it into perspective for you,” he joked. “Anyway, it was really, really good; we have emerging talent with riders and horses, and we try to give them a chance. Obviously, we had very experienced riders at both ends with Bertram and Cian to mind the two ‘babies’ in the middle – but the two ‘babies’ were pretty good! I’m so, so proud of them.”

“We had a good week!” Blake smiled. “I flew the Atlantic from Vancouver, and this worked out for us – so I have had worse weeks! I would like to thank everyone in La Baule, it’s a super show! I’m so thankful to Barrière for sponsoring the Nations Cup; La Baule is such a wonderful and traditional show, it’s absolutely amazing and we are so delighted to be here!” 

Ten teams had lined up to compete in Friday’s CSIO5* 1.60m Barrière Nations Cup at the 2025-edition of Jumping International de La Baule: Ireland, Germany, Brazil, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Great Britain, USA, Belgium and France. With selection for the FEI European Championship in July on the horizon, this was a chance – perhaps even the last – for many of the European horse-and-rider combinations to leave lasting impressions on their respective chef d’equipes. 

Gregory Bodo (FRA) had built a 12-fence track for the occasion. It included a triple combination at 6abc, followed by four strides to a green oxer filled with bushes, while a white plank at no. 9 led the way to the open water at no. 10 which was followed by seven or eight strides to the beach hut double – striped in red and white – at 11ab, before the big La Baule marine-themed oxer on an angle away from the in-gate waited at no. 12. Regardless of whether they opted for the seven or eight, many made mistakes in the penultimate double as they struggled to get their horses back in balance after the open water, and poles fell again and again at this last stretch of the course – in both rounds.

“We could see the technicality of the last line,” Blake said about the course. “When you turned around to come to the plank, that was the place you needed to set yourself up for the whole way home because that was all one line. You could not really think about the last fence before you landed after b of the double, because it was quite wide, and that’s where some maybe made a mistake thinking they could go there on one less, but it was even long on the nine, not just the eight. The angle of it was really clever, and people did not really think of that, but we thought about it a lot.”

The atmosphere at the François André stadium was as always second to none, filled to the brim with enthusiastic fans from both home and abroad. The weather gods had graced La Baule with good conditions for the Nations Cup, with the sun showing up after Thursday’s rain and wind – at one of the most beautiful shows in the international showjumping calendar.

The first to post a clear in round one were Ireland’s Bertram Allen and Qonquest de Rigo (Fantomas de Muze x Indoctro) who made the course look deceptively easy as pathfinders. And with both Seamus Hughes Kennedy on ESI Rocky (Stakkato Gold x For Pleasure), as well as world no. 8 Cian O’Connor on Bentley de Sury (Sunday de Riverland x Calvaro) following up with clears, Tom Wachman’s eight faults on Tabasco de Toxandria Z (Thunder vd Zuuthoeve x Cento Lano) could be discharged – putting the Irish on a score of zero ahead of round two. 

Belgium was also on a zero score – and ahead of Ireland on the time – after all their four pairs jumped clear rounds. After clears from Nicola Philippaerts and Katanga vh Dingeshof (Cardento x Tornedo FCS), Pieter Devos on his home-bred Casual DV (Cornet Obolensky x Cicero Van Paemel), as well as Abdel Said and Bonne Amie (A Big Boy x Landfriese), the Belgians did not even have to send their anchor pair Gilles Thomas and Ermitage Kalone (Catoki x Kannan) in for round one, but they chose to go anyhow and in a pure demonstration of power they were also flawless.

Trailing behind were Great Britain on a team score of four, Sweden and Brazil on eight, Germany, France and Switzerland on 12, while USA had amassed 13, and Italy 20 – leaving the two latter nations out of round two, where the eight best teams returned in reverse order of their scores. 

Ireland kept the pressure on in round two, when their pathfinders Bertram Allen and the powerhouse Qonquest de Rigo posted the first double clear of the Nations Cup – again making light work of the course. Belgium answered right back though, with Nicola Philippaerts and Katanga vh Dingeshof again jumping clear as next to go.

The Irish kept the heat on as Seamus Hughes Kennedy and ESI Rocky delivered the third double clear of the class, piling pressure on to Pieter Devos as next in the ring. And unfortunately for Belgium, Casual DV clipped 6b adding four faults to their score – with the tension building ahead of the third rotation of riders. 

Meanwhile, it was not going Britain’s way, but Brazil delivered three clear rounds in a row – from Luciana Diniz on Vertigo du Desert (Mylord Carthago x Robin Z), Pedro Veniss on Nimrod de Muze Imperio Egipcio (Nabab de Reve x Tinka’s Boy) and Stephan de Freitas Barcha on Chevaux Primavera Imperio Egipcio (Calvaro F.C. x Paroli 4) – keeping on their score of eight with anchor-man Rodrigo Pessoa not even having to return for round two, and making sure both Ireland and Belgium knew there was a minimum of room for error. 

There was a lot of pressure on Tom Wachman’s young shoulders as the 20-year-old entered the ring as third to go for Ireland, but he carried the weight beautifully with an absolutely breath-taking clear round aboard Tabasco de Toxandria Z. Next to go, Belgium’s Abdel Said did not let the heat get to him either and posted his second clear of the class – leaving anchor-rider Gilles Thomas to sort out whether there would be a jump-off for the win. Meanwhile, Ireland’s fourth man Cian O’Connor was given the privilege of watching the action unfold from the Kiss&Cry after his teammates’ performances.

You could hear a pin drop at the François André stadium as Gilles Thomas got underway with his stunning stallion, who is a crowd favourite wherever he goes. However, Ermitage Kalone surprisingly hit the front pole on the CWD oxer at no. 2 – and with another four faults added to their team tally, Belgium had to settle for second behind Ireland who were flawless today over the two rounds of jumping. Coming back strong in the second round, Brazil completed the podium in third.

“It’s always a bit of pressure jumping on the team,” Allen – who was double clear – said after the win. “My horse is relatively inexperienced; he is only nine, it was his first five-star Nations Cup so you are dealing with a few unknowns. But he is a fantastic horse, and I have great confidence in him, so I’m delighted.”

“I got him just before the indoor shows started last year and he is an amazing horse,” Allen said of Qonquest de Rigo. “He has all the scope and all the quality in the world, but it took a little bit of time to get the rideability right. He’s such an intelligent horse, every week you see an improvement. I was lucky to be in Wellington for the winter, and there I could really step him up the levels and he gained a lot of experience. When he came home he was ready to go.”

“Obviously, it was an amazing experience jumping here, thanks to Michael for his trust in us,” Hughes Kennedy – also double clear – said. “It’s an amazing show, and obviously jumping those classes puts a lot of pressure on so it’s nice when it works out.”

“I know Rocky very well at this stage, he has lots of blood and all the scope in the world, and he does just not like hitting the poles,” Hughes Kennedy – who was recently 4th in the CSIO5* 1.60m Rolex Grand Prix of Rome with his 10-year-old gelding – said. “I have been riding him since he was five years old, and we just have a good partnership.”

“I just wanted to do my best,” Wachmann – who jumped a brilliant clear in round two – said. “Bertram and Seamus were both clear, and we were on zero, so if I went clear we would either win it or there would be a jump-off. It just gave me a bit more hunger to try my best and thankfully my horse was great today and jumped a clear round.”

“Obviously we have a good pool of riders to choose from,” Blake said about the huge depth he has created in Team Ireland since he was appointed as High-Performance Jumping Director at the end of 2019. “Shane was left on the side-line today, and of course people would say ‘who would leave Shane Sweetnam on the side-line?’ But I did, because I wanted to try out these guys. So, James Kann Cruz was resting today, and I think it’s good to be able to leave some clothes in the locker.”