Landmark GP win for World No 5 headlines host of victories for Irish athletesSunday was a day Shane Sweetnam will never forget, as his parents made the journey to Sweden to watch their son and the horse that has played such a major role in making him one of the stars of world show jumping, take down an elite field in the Rolex Grand Prix at the illustrious Falsterbo Horse Show in Sweden on a Sunday afternoon.It was a first CSIO five-star Grand Prix triumph for Sweetnam, as well as a first Rolex Grand Prix success.Doing it with the James Kann Cruz (Gizmo Partners & Sweetnam), the Irish Sport Horse bred in Co Galway by Patrick Connolly, added to the occasion for the Castlemagner native, who is the fifth ranked show jumper in the world and after a week that also included another podium and top five finish at five-star level, may well be climbing higher.James Kann Cruz goes by the name Gizmo and has long established himself as one of the elite jumpers on the planet. This has led to a slew of consistent performances but as a big unit, he has been susceptible to zippier models in jump-offs.But in one of the most prestigious classes of the global calendar, the 13-year-old gelding, who was partnered by Sweetnam at the Paris Olympics, was able to deploy his giant stride while showcasing guts to go with his bottomless scope, to snatch the verdict from winning machine Richard Vogel (GER) with a jump-off round that will never be forgotten.It was a fourth Grand Prix success for Gizmo from a yield of 24 Grand Prix podiums and Sweetnam, was as pleased for the horse as for himself. And those emotions were brilliantly captured in the image below.It was a brilliant result. Gizmo is in great form. He has been knocking on the door for a long time now. Weve been really consistent and weve been fast but there always seems to be someone a little faster or getting us somewhere, the Cork man told Horse Sport Ireland on Monday morning.Obviously the draw for the jump-off, that I was fastest in the first round and could go last, helped me know what I needed to do and really, everything came up the way I wanted. He was really pinging and enjoying it there.So I was delighted and my parents were there which made it very exciting.And for the horse, I think he deserves a major win like this. Falsterbo is a legendary show and hopefully it will give us a bit of momentum that we can get a few more like this. But either way, hes been brilliant for me and it was a special day for us.This year marks the 20th anniversary of Sweetnam setting up Sweet Oak Farm with his wife Abi, and they are now reaping the rewards of their vision and endeavour.There was, perhaps, an omen in that James Kann Cruz was the quickest of the 14 clear rounds in the opening examination of 14 obstacles and 17 jumping efforts set by Frank Rothenberger, by almost half a second from Vogel and Cloudio. Certainly, in practical terms, it was significant..Jordan Coyle and Chaccolino (Coyle & Elan Farm) were actually second fastest but four faults in the second round dropped them to 10th.It was Vogel and his 12-year-old stallion who eked five-hundredths of a second off the time set by Steve Guerdat (SUI) and Albufuehrens Iashin Sitte to set what looked a daunting target.James Kann Cruz momentarily slipped on the rollback but still managed to clear the tricky narrow jump straight after. When Sweetnam opened the throttle, the grey galloped with ears pinned back, cleared the penultimate obstacle and then the last, the timers ceasing to move from 37.68 for a decisive triumph.It was a magnificent result, on the week that Horse Sport Ireland announced Equieire as the new official competition jacket supplier to the Irish high performance programme,And the show kicked off with three of the top five in the opening five-star class on Thursday.There are six Irish athletes in the top 50 of the latest Longines FEI world rankings, and 11 in the top 100 and this was reflected in Sweden, with Sweetnam heavily involved with a trademark clear from James Kann Cruz to earn fourth. This proved an ideal pipe-opener for what was to come and crucially, as the first Rolex Grand Prix qualifier of the week, guaranteed a berth in Sundays feature.Coyle was best of the Green Jackets with King Kannan GP (Elan Farm) going clear in 62.11 to just miss out on victory, Andre Thieme claiming top honours in the 1.50m speed class by virtue of a time of 61.72 with DPS Chakaria. Trevor Breen rounded out the top five with Konrad Obolensky (Ian & Heather Black).The Ardmore rider and King Kannan GP moved up one rung in the ladder on Friday morning when triumphant in the five-star Falsterbo Derby qualifier.The pair were electric and foot perfect over the 530m, 14-jump track, going clear in 68.66 to take the spoils. That was almost two seconds clear of Linda Heed (SWE) with Laurien Van Orshof, with her fellow Swede, Stephanie Holmn third on Next Lady.On Saturday, Sweetnam showed off the depth he possesses when improving on his previous days result, sharing second in the weeks second Rolex Grand Prix qualifier with Pia Maria H (Seabrook & Sweetnam).This was a 1.50m speed class, and though Philipp Weishaupt (GER) and Callao L were unbeatable, stopping the clock in 62.98, there was no separating Sweetnam and his 11-year-old mare, from Charlotte Jacobs (USA) and Korbach van de Renger.Both combinations registered times of 64.14 to split the second and third-place prize money between them.Breen, from Cashel, and Konrad Obolensky had a frustrating four faults in the Falsterbo Derby and while fifth was a strong result from a nine-year-old on such a test, their time in that first round suggested that they would have been very competitive in a jump-off.Only three pairings progressed to the decider and victory went to Martin Fuchs (SUI) with Love de Vie.Daniel Fitzgerald (above) has been drawing admiring glances in recent weeks with his results and the Kilcullen athlete ensured that would continue with success in the three-star 1.45m speed class at the Riviera Resort in the Italian village of San Giovanni in Marignano.Riding Fleuriske Z (Aloga Stables), Fitzgerald blew away the opposition, as the nine-year-old grey mare flew across the turf and over the obstacles to stop the clock on 66.09, with Riccardo Pisani (ITA) and Chaccos Lawito PS a long way back in the silver medal position, on a time of 68.37.Anna Duff made it an Irish Grand Prix double on Sunday, grasping the lions share of the pot in the highlight of the two-star show at the Lake Arena in Wiener Neustadt in Australia.It was a really dramatic conclusion with the tightest of margins, as the Meath pilot and her Irish Sport Horse MC Crosskeys (Anna & Brian Duff), bred in Co Cavan by Matthew McBreen, registered a winning clear of 50.07 seconds in the tiebreaker, which was nine-hundredths of a second quicker that the time set by Great Britains Mandy Beger and Starlet.Cormac Hanley and Santiago Vh Netehof (Heathman Farm) accomplished a two-star win for the second week in a row at Ocala, taking the 1.45m speed class at the World Equestrian Center by two clear seconds with a time of 59.77 on Thursday.And the Mayo man and his talented partner (above) made it three in a week under the Floridian sun 24 hours later, a jump-off time of 30.60 securing the Grand Prix qualifier.Denis Lynch competed at the Summer Classic in Valkenswaard and got off to the ideal start as international fare got under way on Friday, scoring in the two-star 1.45m speed class with the 11-year-old Katja (Parco Sport Horses), with a clear in 58.15.On Saturday, the Tipperary town athlete steered Mr Newman (Parco Sport Horses) to third in a 1.45m speed class, .David Blake hit the target at two-star grade also, and whats more, took the third placed prize money too from the Welcome Stake at Tryon on Friday.The Tuamgraney rider steered Gucci Des Embruns (Pine Hollow Farm) to the spoils in convincing fashion to a double clear in 35.99. He could not replicate that feat with Max Van De Marijenhoeve (Jill Shulman) but that pair were the quickest of the four-faulters in the five-combo jump-off.Blake would conclude the week with the same pair taking fourth and sixth respectively in the two-star Grand Prix in which there were only two clear rounds.Victory went to Gwyneth Babington (USA), the daughter of Clonmel native Kevin Babington, who represented Ireland in all major championships including when winning European team gold in 2001 and who is a major source of inspiration as he continues to train horses, despite being paralysed in a fall in 2019, and has established a foundation to provide financial support for equestrians who suffer spinal injuries.Cortown native, Alex Butler was also picking up prize money in a Grand Prix, combining with Ti Amo B Z (Butler & Milestone Farm) for fourth in the three-star feature in amorin, Slovakia on Sunday.BREEDINGCSF JAMES KANN CRUZ (ISH) 2013 gelding by Kannan (KWPN) out of CSF Telly Cruz (ISH) by Cruising (ISH)[TIH]. Breeder: Patrick Connolly, Co Galway. Owner: Gizmo Partners, LLC. Rider: Shane Sweetnam (IRL).MC CROSSKEYS (ISH) 2016 gelding by S Creevagh Ferro Ex Siebe (KWPN) out of Jumeirah (ISH) by Ard Vdl Douglas (KWPN). Breeder: Matthew McBreen, Co Cavan. Owner: Anna Duff & Brian Duff. Rider: Anna Duff (IRL).The post Sweet one in Sweden for Shane and Gizmo appeared first on .