MEATH’S Cian O’Connor was the man of the moment in Barcelona over the weekend, when he finished on the podium in Friday’s 1.60m Grand Prix on board Kentucky TN and then jumped double clear with Chatolinue PS as part of the Irish team in the Longines League of Nations final on Sunday.

The Real Club de Polo in Barcelona, Spain hosted the Longines League of Nations final over the weekend and Ireland had qualified to compete in the eight-team finale (with the hosts, Spain, also fielding a team) after finishing fifth in the four-leg qualifying campaign. Hopes were high going into the final, as the Irish team finished second in Barcelona last season and was hoping to go one better this time round.

Horse Sport Ireland High Performance jumping manager Jessica Kürten had named a strong team for the final, with Trevor Breen on Highland President (Clinton × Kannabella by Kannan), Denis Lynch on Vistogrand (Fantaland × Vistolano by Mr Visto), Cian O’Connor on Chatolinue PS (Diablo Blanco × Stanezza by Stakkatol) and Billy Twomey on Ace Of Hearts Z (Aganix du Seigneur Z × Pozitany Z by Pontoromo) lining up for Team Ireland and Jason Foley on Cute Face travelling as reserve.

Severe weather warnings impacted proceedings on Saturday and Sunday, with the local government of Catalunya cancelling all sport from 8pm on Saturday until 2pm on Sunday. This meant that the main team event on Sunday was held later than originally scheduled.

Breen was first in for Ireland and picked up four faults in round one, as did Lynch. O’Connor jumped a perfect clear, with first-round anchorman Twomey collecting four faults. This put the team on a first-round score of eight faults.

With just three riders required in the second round, Twomey did not jump again. Breen repeated his first-round score of four, with Lynch picking up eight faults this time out. With all three scores counting, the pressure was on O’Connor, but he completed a flawless double clear - one of just eight in the competition. The 12 faults from round two added to the eight from round one gave Ireland a finishing score of 20, which put them in seventh place overall.

Germany took the win on a final score of four, with Brazil in second also on four and Belgium completed the podium in third on a total of five faults.

Podium place

In the individual classes, Thursday saw Lynch ride the 17-year-old gelding Brooklyn Heights into seventh place in the 1.50m Estrella Damm Trophy speed class. The 38 starters produced 11 clear rounds, with Lynch’s time of 79.41 not quite matching the winning time of 74.24 set by Jessica Mendoza (GBR) on In the Air.

Friday’s 1.60m 75th Anniversary Grand Prix of the City of Barcelona, competing for the Calvet Trophy, saw two Irish riders finish in the top four. There were 37 starters in the class, of whom the best 12 from round one made it into the jump-off, where five completed double clear.

O’Connor finished on the podium in third with Kentucky TN in a jump-off time of 47.73, just a fraction ahead of Lynch on Brooklyn Heights, who clocked 48.00 for fourth place. Mendoza (GBR) and In the Air continued their winning streak to claim the €92,580 top prize in 46.94, with former Irish chef d’equipe Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA) on Major Tom having to settle for second in 47.06 to take home €61,720. O’Connor secured €46,290 for third and Lynch took home €30,860 for his fourth-place finish.