The Irish eventing have won silver at the World Equestrian Games, making them the first Irish team to ever pick up a medal in the competition.
As well as winning the historic medal, they have also now guaranteed qualification for the 2020 Olympics which will take place in Tokyo.
It's silver for Ireland! Congratulations to the Irish eventing team who become the first ever Irish team to win a medal at a World Equestrian Games. There was also an individual silver medal for Padraig McCarthy at the Games. pic.twitter.com/wMusKnP4QZ
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 17, 2018
Padraig McCarthy on board Mr Chunky subsequently picked up the individual silver following a catastrophic mistake from a German rider bumped him into second position on the final day.
“It’s absolutely is huge, we are making history here today,” said team manager Sally Corscadden speaking to RTE.
“I had belief in these guys that we could be competitive and that was our goal the whole time, to be competitive and we just stuck to that goal and this is where it got us.
“I think we pushed those Brits too and made them a little nervous! There was nothing lucky about this. This was made to happen by the whole set-up and the team behind them. I just can’t tell you how many people have worked to make this happen.”
'I keep pinching myself' – @TeamIRLEq Team manager Sally Corscadden hails silver medal https://t.co/9B1tRolDVN #rtesport
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 18, 2018
After the Dressage on Friday, Ireland had been sitting in seventh position, but ultimately climbed into second after an impressive Cross Country performance on Saturday that saw every Irish rider jump clear.
It was one of the most hotly contested events in history, and Ireland’s performance on Saturday ensured that it would go right down to the wire with yesterdays final Show Jumping phase set to decide the winner.
McCarthy started the day in seventh place himself, but after an impressive round with Mr Chunky guaranteed Ireland a medal, as well as putting himself in the running for an individual podium finish.
His second place finish was secured following Germany’s Ingrid Klimke failure to clear the final jump of her round. The German looked nailed on for a gold medal, but had to settle for bronze after the mishap.
For Ireland, the double silver success delivered our first major championship eventing medals for more than 20 years.
