McEvoy a five-star winner with Breen, Allen and Coyle also victoriousIrelands fine Nations Cup form continued yesterday with another podium finish in the Longines EEF Nations Cup at Mannheim.Jessica Krtens team of Matt Garrigan with Grace V, Max Wachman on board Tipperary, Lt Michaeli Byrne with the Irish Sport Horse MSH Claregalway and Niall Talbot with Charming Dream Z finished third behind hosts Germany, who finished as the only team on a zero score.On a final tally of four faults after a perfect second round, the Irish were only pipped by Belgium to the runners-up spot on time difference.Ireland were well positioned following the first round of jumping on a score of four faults and produced under pressure after the break as Wexford native, Lt Byrne and Wachman, from Tipperary, both completed double clear performances with Dubliner Garrigan also faultless second time around.It meant Kildare pilot Talbot couldnt improve the team total but when the German and Belgian anchor riders came home clear, a bronze medal was secure, as well as a fine beginning to the EEF Series campaign.Yesterdays regional qualifier result sees Ireland pick up valuable points as the team builds towards the goal of competing at the final in Avenches, Switzerland in September.Niamh McEvoy was the big individual winner among the Irish athletes competing around the world, with a stunning triumph on board Julius at the prestigious five-star Longines Global Champions Tour show in Shanghai yesterday.There was a strong field for the 1.45m speed class as expected on the third stage of the LGCT championship race and after participating in the League and individual classes, the Tyrone native based with at Greg Brodericks Ballypatrick Stables put an exclamation mark on a memorable experience with a fantastic success.McEvoy and Julius had the standard of 64.2 set by Sophie Hinners (GER) and Iron Dames Kaleni Jo to aim at and after clearing 15 jumping efforts around the Shanghai Juss International Equestrian Center, they did just that, stopping the timers in 63.87.There was lucrative five-star fare in Monterrey too, with the grand finale of the Major League Show Jumping series and points counting double in both the individual and team competitions.Shane Sweetnam, from Cork originally, has been a regular in Grand Prix jump-offs in North America for a sustained period, and indeed, on podiums, with those results helping to propel him to No 7 in the world rankings. Coriaan Van Klapscheut Z has been prominent in providing those much valued ranking points and he was front and centre once more as they registered a top-five finish in the $750,000 Grand Prix in Mexico on Saturday.Only eight survived the initial examination. They included Galwegian Michael Duffy, with Mister Querly Z, but they had a rail down in 42.69 and so had to settle for seventh.Sweetnam and Coriaan also made one jumping error but their faster four faults bagged fifth position.Only three combinations managed double clears and it was former Irish chef quipe, Brazilian legend Rodrigo Pessoa who took top honours, along with Prins Vant Eigenlo. The USA duo, Marilyn Little, with La Contessa, and Kent Farrington, with Descartes SR, completed a high-class podium.In the earlier stages of the show, Derry rider Jordan Coyle led an Irish 1-2 in a 1.45m two-star class, combining with King Kannan GP to beat off Down native Conor Swail and Theo 160 with a jump-off time of 34.54, compared to his fellow Ulstermans 35.45.Swail would subsequently post a clear round on Casturano to help his team, the Trelawny Trailblazers, finish third in the $200,000 MLSJ team event.The Irish team that finished third in the Longines EEF Nations Cup in MannheimShane Breen emerged from Le Lame Horses Sporting Club in Montefalco with a four-star triumph on Saturday, the elder of the renowned Tipperary show jumping siblings doing the business on his 10-year-old mare, Be Alcantara.There were 65 athletes signed up for this 1.45m speed class, and the margins were extremely tight. Derry pilot, David Simpson maintained his fine run of consistency in recent times by jumping to fourth with Pjotr van de Kruishoeve, the duo going clear in 64.32.It was all about fine margins, as evidenced by the fact that Simpson wasnt far from the winning time but still could not make the podium. Breens experience showed as he found the inches and hundredths to go clear in 63.67 to ensure an airing of Amhrn na bhFiann in Italy.Billy Twomey piloted promising young gelding Corrindubh Brother In Arms (ISH) to fifth of 55 in a two-phase class at the show on Thursday. A total of 20 of the 55 participants posted double clears but the Cork athlete and his nine-year-old bred in Sligo by Noel Ruane and owned by John Chadwick, were among the most rapid in the jump-off, with a time of 29.08.It was a 1-2-3 for the home riders on the opening international class of the four-star show, with victory going to Elia Simonetti on Li La Bo.Twomey just missed out on a top-five return when sixth with Ace Of Hearts Z in a 1.50m jump-off class, with Trevor Breen in seventh on Kannoon Blue.Harry Allen was a three-star winner at Sentower Park on Thursday with Lukaku Vd Bisschop, who has been a stalwart for the Aloga Stables operation. The 15-year-old gelding and his Wexford rider were just under a full second clear of The Netherlands Amanda Slagter with Pippa Van De Zandhoeve in a 1.45m speed class sponsored by the winning owners.The duo left all the fences upright in the Oakland Arena and clocked 63.50, which was more than enough to garner the major ribbon, from a field of 98.Allen returned to the Oudsbergen podium the following day, when steering Edison de Hus to second in a 1.50m jump-off class. The 24-year-old and his Conrad gelding were flawless over the obstacles and while their time of 37.36 was almost three seconds off that recorded by Daniel Deusser and Bingo Ste Hermelle in the tiebreaker, it was still enough for the silver medal.Cian OConnors visit to the Belgian arena paid off with a runner-up finish in the Prijs Connollys Red Mills Grand Prix yesterday. The Meath-based Kildare native was among the favourites once he qualified for the decider with Kentucky, along with eight other combinations.The difficulty was, that the Irish representatives were first into the ring, meaning there was no evidence to go on when OConnor charted his path, while he was also the pathfinder for his opponents.As it turned out, the Olympic medallist nearly pulled it off and his second clear in 36.90 was far too fast for four of the five other pairings that recorded faultless rounds.Alix Ragot (FRA) was the exception though, and in Gueule dAmours, he had a horse capable of answering his call to take the spoils in 36.22.Mikey Pender was in the money at the three-star show in Arouca with Madgeslane Louis (ISH), a horse close to his heart as the owner/breeder. The Kildare athlete and his nine-year-old son of Luidam secured second in the 1.45m speed class at the Quints Equestrian Center in Portugal on Friday, going clear in 59.84 seconds, with Pedro Veniss (BRA) a comfortable victor along with Duelante 3K.Pender combined with another Irish Sport Horse, Thomascourt Victor to bag the bronze in a two-phase competition on Saturday. Bred by Catherine Thornton in Fermanagh, the eight-year-old showed accuracy and pace to post a double clear in 26.42. That was only just more than half a second slower than the winning time recorded by Armando Trapote (SPA) with Matilda.The week ended with another podium for the Castledermot rider and an Irish-bred horse, this time combining with Starfield Brighteye (ISH), produced in Westmeath by Lino Orlandi, for third in the Grand Prix. Trapote was the victor once more, guiding Nasa de Toxandria to a double clear and a jump-off time of 33.99, with Pender and Starfield Brighteye slotting into third with a time of 34.64.BREEDING:MSH CLAREGALWAY (ISH) 2015 gr mare by Cornet Obolensky (BWP) out of Lady Acobat (HOLST) by Acobat II (HOLST). Breeder: Niall & John Mullins. Owner: Minister for Defence. Rider: Lt Michaeli Ann Byrne.CORRINDUBH BROTHER IN ARMS (ISH) 2017 br gelding by Sligo Candy Boy (ISH) out of Castle Pacino (ISH) by Pacino (BWP). Breeder: Noel Ruane, Corballa, Co Sligo. Owner: John Chadwick. Rider: Billy Twomey (IRL)MADGESLANE LOUIS (ISH) 2017 ch gelding by Luidam (KWPN) out of Madges Lane Karol (ISH) by Obos Quality 004 (OLDBG). Breeder: Michael Pender: Owner: Pender Sport Horses. Rider: Michael PenderTHOMASCOURT VICTOR (ISH) 2017 br gelding by Verdi TN (KWPN) out of Nomina Z (ZANG) by Numero Uno (KWPN). Breeder: Catherine Thornton, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh. Owner: Deborah Francis. Rider: Michael Pender (IRL)STARFIELD BRIGHTEYE (ISH) 2017 gelding by Luidam (KWPN) out of Starfield Primavera (ISH) by Vivaldo van het Costerveld (BWP). Breeder: Lino Orlandi, Co Westmeath. Owner: Catherine Walsh. Rider Michael Pender (ISH)The post Ireland third in EEF Nations Cup appeared first on .