The Irish Nations' Cup team were expected to struggle on their return to the Samsung Super League after a year's absence, but managed to finish a very creditable equal second at La Baule, France on Friday.
Ireland recovered from equal sixth position at the halfway stage to finish runners up alongside Switzerland and the United States.
A zero score from Tipperary's Denis Lynch, who was last man to go in the final round with Flaminia Straumann's 11-year-old gelding Lantinus, and a recovery by Cian O'Connor and the Irish-bred Irish Independent Echo Beach on four faults, held the Irish score at 20 penalties.
Belgium, with just eight faults in the first round, won the
competition on a total of 12 penalties.
Afterwards Irish Team Manager Robert Splaine said: ‘The boys did a great job. That was a very encouraging result. Edward Doyle was solid with just four faults in each round, and both Shane Carey and Cian O'Connor had one very good round and one not-so-good round.
‘I thought Denis Lynch was extremely unlucky to have a fence down first time out and of course his final clear round clinched it for us. Overall, I am very happy with this performance at La Baule.’
The Samsung Super League runs over a total of eight legs, including Dublin, and finishes in Barcelona in September.
Ireland re-entered the Super League this year after winning the FEI Nations' Cup Series in 2007.
On Saturday, Capt Shane Carey and the Minister for Defence's 16 year-old gelding Killossery clocked up their third win of the weekend with victory in the Accumulator competition.
The thirty year-old Limerick-born rider and the bay Irish-bred horse nosed ahead of France's Julien Epaillard by a third of a second to take the winner's trophy.
