Show Jumping: Golden Green Gothenburg

Following a breath-taking comeback, the Irish team guided by Coach Rodrigo Pessoa claimed the gold medal in the team event at the 2017 Gothenburg European Championships. 
Following elimination on Thursday, Bertram Allen and Hector van d’Abdijhoeve were left out on the final day, as Ireland relied on fantastic jumps by Shane Sweetnam on Chaqui Z (who lead individually for much of the competition), Denis Lynch on All Star 5 (4-0 for the pair) and Cian O’Connor on Good Luck. The great performance from the trio was enough to surpass host nation Sweden, who led following the first round but performed poorly in the second as Malin Baryard-Johnson, on H&M Cue Channa, withdrew while Douglas Lindelow, on Zacramento, picked up 9 penalties. In the end the home team couldn’t compete, as Ireland finished on a team total of 12.11 while Sweden only managed 18.21. 
While the Swedes had to settle for silver in the team event, they could still claim the highest honours in the individual events with Peder Fredricson continuing his magic moment, as he leads the individual rankings on H&M All In, having managed to avoid picking up a single penalty yet. 
Switzerland finished third in the team even on 20.15 points, with current second in the individual rankings Martin Fuchs, on Clooney 51, their best performer.
Despite some fine performances on the first and second days, Italy dropped off in the second round, falling from 5th in the rankings to their final 8th placement.On the bright side for the Azzurri, Alberto Zorzi proved himself to be one of the best in the competition, and currently sits 5th in the individual rankings. 
On the other hand, the other Italian competitors failed to shine in the final round as Luca Marziani on Tokyo du Soleil picked up 10 penalties, Emilio Bicocchi on Sassicaia Ares picked up 9 and Lorenzo De Luca on Armitages Boy withdrew. www.gothenburg2017.com
www.fei.org
photo: Shane SWEETNAM (IRL) – 767 Chaqui Z
Photo FEI/Claes Jakobsson