SJAI selectors met over Nations Cup team despite EFI position

EQUESTRIAN: The Show Jumping Association of Ireland (SJAI) selectors met in Co Kildare yesterday to nominate a team for the first Nations Cup of the season, at Wellington in Florida in early March. The meeting was held despite a statement issued last Friday that the Equestrian Federation of Ireland (EFI) had taken over selection for senior international and developmental squads.

"We're trying to work through things, with some very delicate issues," EFI secretary general Dan Butler told The Irish Times after the two-hour meeting.

The selectors had been afforded the opportunity to recommend their nominees for the Wellington fixture in a bid to "show collegiality", according to Butler. All international entries still have to be ratified by the federation.

"It's not 'us and them', it's we," the new SJAI chairman, Patricia Furlong, said. " 'We' is the paramount word in Irish show jumping. We must all work together for the betterment of the sport."

A spokesperson for the Irish Sports Council, which hosted last Friday's meeting when the EFI announced they were taking the selection process away from the SJAI, said the council had not been informed of the meeting.

"We don't have a direct relationship with the SJAI and we weren't aware of the meeting," a Sports Council spokesman said.

The names of the Wellington team members, along with the individuals for the World Cup qualifiers in the Netherlands and Sweden, are expected to be released tomorrow.

The federation had issued a further statement on Monday declaring that a panel had been put in place to resolve the selection of an international team manager. Application details for the job are on the EFI website and advertisements are to be placed in the equestrian press this week.

In a separate development, the American squad which won silver at the Athens Olympics will be presented with the gold medals relinquished by the German team following a positive dope test on Ludger Beerbaum's horse Goldfever.

Chris Kappler, Beezie Madden, McLain Ward and Peter Wylde will be presented with their gold medals at a ceremony in Florida on Sunday week.

Kappler will also be awarded individual silver due to the reshuffling of the individual medals after the positive dope test on Waterford Crystal that resulted in Cian O'Connor being stripped of the individual title.