Ireland Faces European Rivals at Nations Cup in Switzerland this Week

CSIO stands for Concours de Saut International Officiel (official international jumping competition), and in the sport of show jumping, generally only one event per year per country can carry that title. Participating national equestrian federations send a top-level team to these exclusive events with the goal of earning points to qualify for the 2017 FEI Nations Cup Final in Barcelona, Spain at the end of September.

In St.Gallen, in eastern Switzerland on the edge of the Appenzell Alps, the horses and riders will be confronting each other at one of the most historic equestrian sports spots in the modern world. In fact, the precusor of today’s competition in St.Gallen dates back to 1884.

For the 2017 edition, Belgium, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden and Brazil will be taking part in the Europe Division 1 qualifier, with all countries except Belgium (in the 19-nation Division 2) and visitors Brazil eligible to earn points in the standings. Currently, France leads the Division, followed by Sweden and Spain.

The 5* level competition will truly be elite, with top-ranked riders such as Gregory Wathelet of Belgium, Roger Yves Bost of France, Marcus Ehning of Germany, Bertram Allen of Ireland, Lorenzo de Luca of Italy, Henrik Von Eckermann of Sweden, and others in St. Gallen to take on a big Swiss group led by Steve Guerdat, Martin Fuchs and Romain Duguet. The city of 160,000 marks the half-way point in the Europe Division 1 Nations Cup qualifying campaign, after starting in Lummen, Belgium in April and passing through La Baule, France and Rome. Next stop will be Rotterdam, followed by Falsterbo, Sweden, Hickstead, Great Britain, and Dublin.

Also on tap in St.Gallen is the other marquee event of the weekend, the €200,000 Longines Grand Prix of Switzerland on Sunday afternoon. The prestigious 1.60m competition counts for the worldwide Longines Rankings of riders. Ehning and De Luca, for instance, will be aiming to move up in the top ten.

If visitors to the Swiss competition have time, they can check out such local sites as the Abbey of Saint Gall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating back more than 1000 years.