OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Make no mistake, it was more than just the luck of the Irish.
Riders from Ireland dominated the $300,000 Longines FEI™ Jumping World Cup™ Ocala CSI5*-W at the World Equestrian Center (WEC) on Feb. 15, 2025, claiming the top four spots. Cian O’Connor and his 14-year-old Selle Francais gelding, Bentley de Sury, delivered a flawless double-clear performance to secure victory in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the WEC Grand Arena.
While Irish riders excelled in Ocala, their national team simultaneously triumphed at the Longines League of Nations™ Abu Dhabi CSIO 5*, the first leg of the prestigious series. The next leg will take place at the World Equestrian Center from March 18-23.
Bentley de Sury, still acclimating to this level of competition, showed little difficulty handling the 1.60-meter jumps. He stopped the clock at 78.07 seconds in the first round to qualify for the jump-off, where he excelled again. For O’Connor, a four-time Olympian and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, Saturday night’s victory was particularly satisfying. When asked about competing at the World Equestrian Center, he praised it as the best venue in the world.
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“I was obviously delighted with Bentley, he jumped really well,” said O’Connor. “He was third in the Grand Prix a few weeks ago in Wellington, but when there’s so many Irish in the jump-off, I knew they’d go so hard, it kind of motivated me a little bit to have a proper go. Shane (Sweetnam) had a brilliant round, and I knew Daniel (Coyle) was coming behind, so I just did what I thought Bentley could do. I’m delighted, not really for me, at this stage but for all the team. So many people work so hard, and when you win something like this, it makes it all worthwhile for the wider team. I’m very happy for all of them.”
Shane Sweetnam, riding the 12-year-old gelding James Kann Cruz, finished second, just .19 seconds behind O’Connor. Despite an impressive first-round performance, a slight turn from the second to the third obstacle in the jump-off likely cost him the win. Sweetnam acknowledged the fierce competition.
“Even back on the second last (obstacle), especially with these guys coming behind you, I had a feeling I didn’t have enough done,” said Sweetnam. “He jumped great. I’m delighted with him. I can always be a little bit better, but he did his part. He was second two weeks ago, second again today. Hopefully, we’ll have a good year.”
Daniel Coyle, who won the qualifier earlier in the week, was a strong contender among the 33 entries. Riding the 12-year-old KWPN gelding Incredible, he finished the jump-off in 36.84 seconds, just .22 seconds behind O’Connor and .03 seconds behind Sweetnam.
“I’m very lucky actually at the moment,” said Coyle. “I have Farrel back at the top of the sport. Incredible was incredible tonight. Again, the rider going a little too slow. If anyone is going to beat you, it might as well be two Irishmen.”
Other top performers included Tom Wachman (Tabasco de Toxandria Z), Nina Mallevaey (Nikka vd Bisschop), and Alise Oken (Gelvera), all of whom went double clear. Darragh Kenny (Eddy Blue) also went fault-free in the first round but had an unfortunate rail in the jump-off.
Local rider Aaron Vale, last in the order of go, had an unlucky rail at the flamingo vertical and a time penalty, finishing in 80.13 seconds in the first round.
Renowned course designer Bernardo Costa Cabral created the 1.60-meter tracks, which featured 14 obstacles and 17 jumping efforts in the first round with an 80-second time limit. The jump-off consisted of seven obstacles and eight jumping efforts with a 50-second time limit. Costa Cabral relished the opportunity to design at WEC.
“There are so many choices we have, it’s actually hard,” said Costa Cabral. “I was very happy with what we chose tonight. It looked beautiful on the screen, and these guys made it happen. Everything went our way today, which was good.”
This was the first time the World Equestrian Center hosted a North American League World Cup Qualifier.
“This was absolutely electric for us to come out and make this happen tonight,” said Mason Jordan, representing the organizers on behalf of the Roberts family. “I don’t think we could really ask for much more for equestrian sport in the U.S.”