Edited press release from Spruce Meadows

It was a full house at Spruce Meadows on Saturday for the CSIO5* 1.60m BMO Nations Cup, where Ireland – Bertram Allen and Pacino Amiro (Pacino x Mc Amiro, bred by Simon Scott and owned by Aiden McGrory), Daniel Coyle and Legacy (Chippendale Z x Bon Ami, bred by Romain Rotty and owned by Ariel Grange and Daniel Coyle), Denis Lynch and Brooklyn Heights (Nabab de Reve x For Pleasure, bred by Eric Polfliet and owned by Molly Ohstrom) and Conor Swail aboard Calciet EB Z (Cornet Obolensky x Berlin, bred by LVP Stables and owned by Hot Horses LLC), led by Chef d’Equipe Michael Blake – took the win ahead of Germany in second and hosts nation Canada in third.

Seven teams were ready to take on the 520m long course set by Leopoldo Palacios (VEN), that featured 12 obstacles and 15 jumping efforts – all to be completed under a time of 78 seconds. The top six teams from the first round advanced to round two, where they competed over an identical course. Following the first round of jumping, defending champions Team Sweden would have to sit out round two as they finished round one in 7th place. 

The top of the table was tight and it came down to Canada, Ireland and Germany. It was quickly determined that Canada would take the bronze and if Ireland’s Bertram Allen and Pacino Amiro –- the very last pair out in round two – jumped clear, Ireland would take gold. The stadium was quiet as Allen entered the ring and as he cleared the final fence with no faults it was established that Ireland had won – a feat that had not been accomplished since 2001.

“I've never been here (Spruce Meadows) and I don't think there's too many big shows that I've haven't been to in the last ten years, at least once,” Allen said afterwards. “And so it's, you know, it's a magical place here. I always wanted to come, but just from the championship or Dublin or the type of horse I had, I could never make it. So I made a plan this year to really set it as a goal, and yeah, it's fantastic. The feeling from Tuesday when I arrived to the whole thing around how big it is, how fast it is, the history around the place and then yeah, then when you go through the clock tower into the main ring it's even more special. So it’s really, really nice to be here.”

The BMO Nations Cup was also the last opportunity for riders not yet qualified for Sunday’s CPKC ‘International’, presented by Rolex to qualify – by posting four faults or less in the first round of competition.