The Irish show jumping team fought their way to a fourth-place finish in the Longines League of Nations second leg at the World Equestrian Centre overnight in Ocala, Florida.
It was a case of what might have been for Michael Blake and his team with Ireland left to rue errors as a 13-fault finish meant they were just touched off the podium by less than a second, having finished level with Belgium.
Host nation USA landed the spoils on four faults after anchor rider McLain Ward jumped a clear round under pressure on Ilex to see off Germany in second by a solitary time penalty.
Having been in sixth position after round one, the Irish fought back and the result means they remain on top of the overall standings on 170 points, having won leg one in Abu Dhabi.
Blake, while happy with the eventual finish, cut a slightly frustrated figure as some crucial faults at crucial times meant they were forced to chase down those in front of them.
He said: "I'm proud of the lads, they fought out there and we thought briefly that we had secured a podium finish once again but it wasn’t to be. I felt that some of the poles that dropped were ones that ordinarily wouldn’t have, but that’s jumping."
