The prestigious Nations Cup of Ireland on Friday stacked up to be a match between the U.S., which hadn’t won the Aga Khan trophy since 2017 and Ireland, a country with a habit of fielding winning teams this year.
And so it was at the end of the first round in Dublin before a packed (as always) grandstand that both of those nations had 0 faults, though the USA’s total time on course was better, 210.88 seconds to Ireland’s 217.32. The competition was far from over at that point, however. Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland, last year’s winner, were all behind but in reach with 8 penalties, while Britain was further back with 12. But no matter.
What counted would be where they were at the end of the second round for the presentation of the coveted golden trophy by the Lord Mayor of Dublin. The show, which began in 1864, is now part of the Rolex series, which gives it even more glitter.
EquiRatings gave Ireland its top win chance, 18 percent, but ranked the U.S. sixth in that category, with a 10 percent win chance. All of the last 10 winners were in the top two after round one, according to EquiRatings, so that held true.
The route designed by Ireland’s Alan Wade for the class sponsored by The Underwriting Exchange included many tributes to the nation’s history and character: the Ballsbridge wall, the Irish brooch fences, the Celtic crosses standing guard at the next-to-last and the Irish telephone boxes to finish off the display.
The only veteran of the USA’s Olympic silver medal team from earlier this month was anchor rider McLain Ward, but he was on the steady Callas, rather than his Games horse, the more spectacular Ilex.
Spencer Smith impressed on Keeneland not only as the U.S. pathfinder, but also the first in the class to venture out over the emerald green turf, a refreshing vista after all the man-made footing that is generally the rule these days. At age 28, the 2014 USEF Medal Finals winner surely has an even greater future ahead of him. Spencer is ranked no. 118 in the Longines standings, but that will be changing.
Spencer Smith and Keeneland. (US Equestrian photo)
“You want to have a strong rider come out of the box and it tends to be, more and more so, the chefs d’equipe are putting really strong riders to start off with because it takes pressure off those who follow,” said U.S. Coach Robert Ridland.
“We drew post position number one and Spencer said, `I’ll go first.'” And look what he did!”
He would be one of only six double clears in the class eligible for a piece of a 50,000 Euro bonus that was part of the $250,000 total prize money. When you consider that the others included McLain, world number one Henrik von Eckerman of Sweden (Iliana) and 2021 Olympic individual gold medalist Ben Maher of Great Britain (Exit Remo), that’s pretty heady company.
The U.S. flag waves in triumph over the Royal Dublin Society arena.
The difference for Ireland in the final standings was that it had no double clears. Each of its riders put in one fault-free round, and the Nations Cup rule that allows one drop score helped, but an additional fault-free trip by an Irishman would have made the score equal with the U.S. and led to a jump-off. Instead, the U.S. won on 4 penalties, while Ireland had 8 and Britain rose from seventh after the first round to third with a total of 12. Britain has won the Aga Khan trophy the most times, 27, while Ireland has won it 24 times.
On the podium with his team, Robert raised show jumping’s most famous trophy (the Aga Khan was instituted 98 years ago), as each rider touched it.
“I was just talking to (Irish chef d’equipe) Michael Blake. He was pointing out how many times he had beaten us this year,” said Robert.
“I think we got even today.”
The riders were ecstatic over the win.
“It’s an absolute honor to be here. This is probably the best Nations Cup in the world,” said Lucy Davis, who rode Ben 431. Aaron Vale was excited about making his Dublin debut with Carissimo 25.
“I just can’t wait to come back,” he said.
McLain noted, “It was a pressure-packed round on the way in.”
McLain Ward and Callas.
While he could afford three time faults for going over the 74-second time allowed and still secure a win, a knockdown would have meant a tie-breaker where the trophy could slip away. But he didn’t leave the door open and finished well within the time.
“I know the crowd was a tiny bit disappointed that we pulled it off, but we all started in Ireland anyway,” said McLain, whose father’s family has its roots in that country.
“It’s coming home for us and we love being here.”
Spencer noted, “We’ve got a lot of Irish friends and supporters and to ride with this amazing team, Olympians and superstar athletes, I’m so lucky to be here with a great horse.” He called winning the Aga Khan, “the greatest feeling in the world.”
“Obviously they cheer for the home team, but if the home team can’t win, we are the second favorite by a mile,” said Robert.
“Our four riders, when we win there, are like rock stars. It’s really quite amazing. They love team USA here.”
The Aga Khan trophy with Lucy Davis, Aaron Vale, Robert Ridland, McLain Ward and Spencer Smith.
Robert was happy to have Lucy “back in the fold” after she took a break from the grand prix scene. She had been on his medal-winning 2014 world championship and 2016 Olympic teams.
“She looked really good today,” said Robert.
He pointed out Aaron is getting to know Carissimo “better and better. He’s done quite a few Nations Cups for us this year and been very, very consistent.”
Although McLain was the only rider from the silver medal Olympic team to compete in the Aga Khan, Robert said “there’s momentum, and so we’re a little bit riding that momentum and it doesn’t get any better than Dublin.”
He added, “It’s kind of hard to beat what we just won.” And at Dublin, like the Olympics, what makes things special are the crowds.
“You can’t get from one side of the arena to the other to watch because there’s so many people,” he said, calling them “real fans of the sport. It’s very invigorating for sure. It’s why we do the sport.”
If you want to see the top riders live in Sunday’s grand prix, tune in to Horse & Country TV at 10 a.m. Eastern on Sunday.
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