February 16, 2025 
There was a meeting of Irish minds in the jump-off of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Ocala on Saturday night.
The same four Irish riders who won the Longines League of Nations Ocala last March were on a mission again in the Grand Arena, but this time, they were giving it their all against one another.
Five of the seven jump-off contenders in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Ocala hailed from Ireland, and it became clear early on that the winner would undoubtedly be Irish. In fact, the entire podium was unsurprisingly Irish.
Shane Sweetnam, Cian O’Connor, Darragh Kenny, and Daniel Coyle—Ireland’s winning team in the 2024 League of Nations—along with Max Wachman all navigated the Bernardo Costa Cabral course clear. An Irish win looked inevitable, but it was a matter of which Irishman would be daring enough.
Once he knew who he was up against, O’Connor’s thoughts were, “I better get my act together.”
Sweetnam was perhaps the biggest threat with James Kann Cruz, his Paris Olympics partner. The 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding has already crossed the €1.5 million mark with a 60% clear round rate at 1.60m and above (Jumpr stats).
Defending champions Coyle and the aptly named Incredible were ones to fear as well. Coyle always gives it in jump-off mode and, paired with this horse, has taken five international victories in only a year together (Jumpr).
Then there was Kenny, always fast and aboard a sensational mount Eddy Blue. The horse already earned a World Cup win from London and has been on top form practically since the beginning of his CSI5* career at the 2023 Hampton Classic.
O’Connor’s accolades as a rider—four-time OIympian and individual bronze medalist—put him plenty up to snuff with the others. But his new partnership on Bentley de Sury, a horse with no prior international wins, didn’t peg them as the one to beat.
Any doubts about that match were proven wrong.
With the 14-year-old Selle Francais gelding (Sunday de Riverland x Calvaro), O’Connor sped to a new leading time of 36.62 seconds and made his remaining teammates chase him.
“I was obviously delighted with Bentley. I’ve only ridden him against the clock a couple of times,” O’Connor said. “When there were so many Irish in the jump-off, I knew they’d go hard, so that kind of motivated me to have a proper go.”
Though he wasn’t certain he could beat them, O’Connor knew the stakes. “Shane had a brilliant round, and I knew Daniel was coming behind, so I just did what I thought that Bentley could do, and he was very good.”
The spread between first and third was only .22 seconds. Sweetnam ended up second, with Coyle third.
Ocala marks the final leg of the North American League.
Kent Farrington (USA) ends the season atop the NAL standings with 58 points, followed by Daniel Bluman (ISR) with 54 points and Kristen Vanderveen (USA) on 38 points. Kenny, Sweetnam, and Coyle have qualified for the World Cup Finals as Extra Athletes out of the North American League.
The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final will take place in Basel, Switzerland April 1–6, 2025.
