Kerins into World Cup final
Saturday, 18 April 2009 10:44Ireland's Darragh Kerins has earned a qualifying spot in Sunday's Rolex FEI World Cup Show Jumping final in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A single first round error in the second qualifying class denied him the jump-off but still left him in the frame for the third and final competition of the weekend.
Sligo-born Kerins is Ireland's sole representative in the World Cup final and has fought his way through the first two competitions at Las Vegas to earn equal 18th spot in the rankings - with the top 30 qualifying for Sunday's two round final.
Riding the Double H Farm-owned ten-year-old gelding 'Night Train', the 34-year-old finished 16th in Thursday's Speed competition from a starting field of 44 and his accumulated points from the two contests gave him the slot for Sunday.
He said: 'It's terrific to be in the final competition. The horse jumped great tonight. He's been stepping up his game and we were very unlucky to have one fence down.
'It was just a light rub at the vertical, but I have my fingers crossed for Sunday that we will do better. It's going to be hard to catch the leaders, but I'm aiming for a top ten finish on Sunday.'
Kerins, who is now based in Wellington, Florida, qualified for the Las Vegas Final through points gained in the USA's East Coast League.
Last year's winner, Germany's Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, heads the rankings in Las Vegas with the gelding 'Shutterfly'.
