Irish Show Jumping team narrowly miss out on medal at European Championships

Seamus Hughes Kennedy and the Irish-bred ESI Rocky (ISH) are in seventh place heading into the individual European final

The Irish Show Jumping team have finished just one place outside the medals in fourth position, following today’s (Friday) final round of the team competition at the 2025 Longines FEI Jumping European Championships at A Coruña in Spain.

The Irish quartet of Tipperary’s Denis Lynch (Vistogrand), Kilkenny’s Seamus Hughes Kennedy (ESI Rocky (ISH), Wexford’s Bertram Allen (Qonquest de Rigo) and Offaly’s Darragh Kenny (Eddy Blue), were in seventh place after Wednesday’s opener before moving up three places to fourth after Thursday’s second competition.

As the final round got underway, four fault rounds from Denis Lynch and from Bertram Allen along with a brilliant clear from Seamus Hughes Kennedy, kept Ireland in fourth place with one rider left for each team. A hugely impressive clear from anchor rider Darragh Kenny and Eddy Blue would see Ireland finish on a final score of 12.39 and just over one fence off the bronze medal winners.


Belgium are the new European Champions taking the Gold medal on a score of 5.61. Britain claimed the Silver medal on 7.96 while Germany took home the Bronze on 8.19.

Ans so Ireland’s team medal tally at the European Championships remains at four. Ireland’s first European medal win came at Rotterdam in The Netherlands in 1979 when the quartet of John Roche, Gerry Mullins, Con Power and Eddie Macken took the Bronze medal. Ireland had to wait until 2001 for it’s next medal, and it was worth the wait when Kevin Babington, Jessica Kürten, Peter Charles and Dermott Lennon took the Gold medal at Arnhem in The Netherlands. Another Gold medal would follow for the Irish at Gothenburg in Sweden in 2017 when Shane Sweetnam, Bertram Allen, Denis Lynch and Cian O’Connor were crowned European Champions. Ireland added a team Silver medal in 2023 at Milan in Italy for the Irish quartet of Michael Duffy, Trevor Breen, Shane Sweetnam and Eoin McMahon.

The European individual final takes place on Sunday with Seamus Hughes Kennedy best-placed of the Irish in seventh position, while Darragh Kenny is in 13th and Denis lynch in 24th.

BREEDING
ESI Rocky (ISH) 2015 gelding by Stakkato Gold (HANN) out of Clonaslea (BWP) by For Pleasure (HANN) Breeder: Ennisnag Stud owned by Clare Hughes ridden by Seamus Hughes-Kennedy.