"The Nations Cup in La Baule has been a target for us for a while, but getting invited has been the challenge," Irish chef d'equipe Michael Blake told WoSJ after his team won the Barrière Nations Cup at the traditional French venue. All photos © Jenny Abrahamsson for World of Showjumping.
Text © World of Showjumping
It’s been two whirlwind weeks for Ireland’s High-Performance Jumping Manager Michael Blake. From the Nations Cup in St. Gallen (SUI), he flew to Vancouver (CAN) and then back over the Atlantic to La Baule (FRA) – with three different teams in action across the two continents in a span of eight days. All the air miles were worthwhile though, as the Irish took their third consecutive Nations Cup win at Thunderbird Show Park, Langley, and then topped the podium in La Baule only a few days later.
“I left St. Gallen on Saturday and flew 9000 km to Vancouver. It was obviously brilliant. We've won there five times, and the last three times in a row,” Blake tells World of Showjumping.
“It meant a lot to me; it’s hard to win three in a row,” Blake says about the Irish CSIO4* Nations Cup win in Langley. “It was also a special team at Thunderbird Show Park, we called the squad “The Derry Boys” because three of them are from Co. Derry – brothers Daniel and Jordan Coyle and their cousin Christian Coyle. Conor Swail is obviously not related, so in this case he was cousin James,” Blake jokes with reference to the TV comedy show “Derry Girls”. “Both Conor and Daniel have been on all five winning teams in Langley, which is pretty impressive, and we were really, really delighted to be able to do it again with a team like that.”
“When I started in this job, I was deliberately strategic with the aim of having Ireland represented in as many Nations Cups that we could get an invitation for – as far as possible. I really wanted to give all our younger riders an opportunity," Blake says – here pictured with the 22-year-old Seamus Hughes Kennedy who did his five-star Nations Cup debut in La Baule.
“I flew into La Baule on Wednesday morning, and the show is absolutely amazing,” Blake says. “The Nations Cup in La Baule has been a target for us for a while, but getting invited has been the challenge. It’s been the same in Aachen, Rome and at Spruce Meadows, but once we got invited, we luckily won.”
“What is really great is that we now have so many younger riders coming along, and that we have so much depth in our squad,” Blake says. “The winning teams in the CSIO5* Longines League of Nations™ in Abu Dhabi, the CSIO4* Nations Cup in Langley and then in the CSIO5* Barrière Nations Cup in La Baule all consisted of different horse-and-rider combinations.”
“When I started in this job, I was deliberately strategic with the aim of having Ireland represented in as many Nations Cups that we could get an invitation for – as far as possible. I really wanted to give all our younger riders an opportunity, as it is really important for our young riders to gain experience in the ring at a Nations Cup. As I keep saying, ‘the only way to prepare for a Nations Cup is to ride in a Nations Cup’, and this is true for both horse and rider,” Blake says.
“We are very, very lucky to have such a pool of older and younger riders, with the more experienced riders helping to mentor the less experienced riders at shows," Blake tells – here Cian O'Connor with Tom Wachman.
“There is a direct link between Ireland’s high count of podium finishes every year and the level of experience we give multiple combinations in as many Nations Cups as possible. This strategy is also about preparing our young riders for the future,” says Blake – who back in 2013, together with Maureen Bagnall and Tomas Ryan, also created a bursary system and an educational programme for younger Irish riders.
“This helped provide riders with better riding opportunities and with greater access to a wider pool of owners and therefore better-quality horses,” Blake points out. “We are very, very lucky to have such a pool of older and younger riders, with the more experienced riders helping to mentor the less experienced riders at shows. We for example have Cian O’Connor – who has 159 Nations Cup appearances on his record – and his experience, along with other senior riders such as Denis Lynch, Shane Sweetnam, Conor Swail, and many more, is extremely helpful when they line out with less experienced riders as they share their knowledge and experience with the younger riders.”
“In essence, Ireland has focused on giving younger riders as many Nations Cup opportunities as possible, so that we are constantly building for the future,” Blake emphasizes.
“In essence, Ireland has focused on giving younger riders as many Nations Cup opportunities as possible, so that we are constantly building for the future,” Blake says. On his winning Nations Cup team in La Baule, Seamus Hughes Kennedy, aged 22, and Tom Wachman, aged 20, jumped alongside the more experienced Cian O'Connor (45) and Bertram Allen (29).
“We do just below thirty Nations Cups annually, and we make a plan at the beginning of the year so that everyone gets their chance,” Blake says. “The riders all understand that Team Ireland has thirty riders, not four – and without all the people that support us we would also not be able to go and win these cups. It’s a cliché, but it takes a village – owners, grooms, staff, farriers, physios, and vets, as well as the national federation. However, it is a true cliché.”
“And on a day like on Friday, we for sure have 15 horse-and-rider combinations that could all go out and do it and – that makes me really proud,” Blake closes off.
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