THE IRISH team claimed the Mercedes-Benz Prize, Part of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup when storming to victory in Aachen, Germany.

This sixth leg of the 2010 Meydan FEI Nations Cup series was a classic contest, with five top teams tied for the lead at the halfway stage. But it was the men in green who stood firm while their rivals crumbled in the closing stages, and Robert Splaine’s side produced two of the three double-clears in this sensational Nations Cup clash.

The host country finished second, German chances seriously hindered by an unfortunate first round from Ludger Beerbaum and his young mare Gotha, while the USA hung on for third place ahead of the struggling Swiss and the French who shared fourth. The Netherlands slotted into sixth while last week’s winners form Sweden had to settle for seventh spot this time around, and the British put up a big score for eighth place. Poland and Spain sat it out after round one, the Spanish side reduced to just three team members when Julio Arias was a late withdrawal.

Today’s result has shaken up the leaderboard, but the French still hold the strong advantage they established with their hat-trick of wins early in the season. The USA has improved to second place but the Irish have rocketed up from sixth to third ahead of Britain in fourth, Germany in fifth and Spain now in that uncomfortable sixth spot. The same four teams continue to occupy the bottom-four relegation zone in the 10-nation series. Just three points separate The Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden but for Poland there is no escape from the reality of returning to the Promotional League in 2011, as they have still not collected a single point to date.

Frank Rothenberger’s 12-fence track did not disappoint. Riders come to Aachen knowing that nothing less than their best will do on this hallowed ground and he demanded big, bold jumping from the horses and intelligent riding from their pilots. This was not a course for the faint-hearted, and experience would count for a great deal. Yet the two Irishmen who never touched a pole were both riding horses with little mileage at this level of the sport. With characteristic patience, 2002 World Champion Dermott Lennon has nurtured the talent of his 10 year old gelding Hallmark Elite and tonight they really showed their class in both rounds while Cian O’Connor’s new ride, K Club Lady who has only been in his yard since April, made the course designer’s questions seem very elementary indeed. This daughter of Landgraf was competing with an amateur rider in Spain until O’Connor spotted her a few months ago, but she has taken to the challenge of bigger fences with consummate ease.

Irish pathfinder, Billy Twomey, collected just four faults on his first tour of the arena with Tinka’s Serenade – one of the many victims of the penultimate triple combination. This, the water at fence nine and the triple-bar at fence four proved influential throughout the competition. Irish anchorman, Denis Lynch, looked set for a clear until lowering the very last, and with four faults on the board the Irish shared the lead with the USA, France, Switzerland and Germany at the halfway point. The real battle was played out between these five sides as round two got underway.

The result was produced with clinical efficiency however when Twomey, Lennon and O’Connor put zero scores on the board. Lynch didn’t even have to line out a second time and so can look forward to defending Sunday’s Grand Prix title with a fresh horse. Although Penelope Leprevost and Mylord Carthago produced the third of those precious double-clears the French were shaken by two 13-fault rounds from master-craftsman Michel Robert whose mare, Kellemoi de Pepita, lost her confidence and concentration after hitting the odd-looking triple bar in round one, and they finished with a 16-fault score along with the Swiss whose pathfinder Steve Guerdat collected 20 faults with Jalisca Solier to leave them vulnerable.