Conor Swail and Count Me In keep Irish hopes alive at World Jumping Cup in Leipzig

Conor Swail and Count Me In put in an impressive clear round of jumping in a time of 67.06 seconds to leave them perfectly poised to challenge Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs and Chaplin on Saturday before the competition concludes on Sunday.

Having entered the competition ranked number five in the world after topping the standings in the North American League, hopes were high that Swail and Count Me In could bring that form to Liepzig.

Of the 35 rounds just nine went clear and in front of a packed Leipziger Messe, the partnership picked up where they left off and are now poised to challenge Fuchs and Austria’s Max Kuhner on Day 2.

“It went as well as I could have hoped,” Swail told the Irish Independent. “We had made a good plan beforehand and it fell into place.

“With the format, it was all about how much risk we wanted to take and how much horse we could have going into the weekend. But he gave me a great feel, he was with me all the way and I don’t think it took too much out of him.

“I had targeted a time of 66-67 seconds so I’m happy with that and this score gets carried into Friday’s session, where it’s a jump-off class of faults and time. We’re nicely positioned.

“What it does mean is that we can afford to not have to push too hard today. You can’t win anything on the Thursday but you can certainly lose and but we’re in a good position now so it’s all systems go.

“What really pleased me, though, was that Count Me In can sometimes be nervous early on in competition – for a day or two – but he took it all in his stride and it was all very comfortable for him.

“There were a couple of jumps that some found difficult, and he can sometimes get spooked but there was none of that and, as I said, it seems like it hasn’t taken a lot out of him. I’m very much looking forward to Day 2.

Ireland’s other competitor, Tipperary’s Denis Lynch and 15-year-old stallion Cristello finished with one fence down in a time of 71.43. With three seconds added for each fence down, Lynch finished on 74.43 putting him into 21st place.