Why not watch Bertram tonight and Cheer him on his quest to be the first Irish Person to win the World Cup

WITH victory in the first speed round of the Longines World Cup Final under his belt, 19 year-old Bertram Allen now faces two further obstacles in his bid to become the first Irish rider to win the World Cup trophy.

The first hurdle at Las Vegas rolls up at 3am Irish time on Saturday when he and the 11 year-old Molly Malone V enter the jump-off competition, the duo being last to jump in the remaining field of 35 of the world’s best riders and horses. In this second leg the jumps will increase in height and the course will increase in difficulty.

Margins are slim at the the top end of the leaderboard, with the Wexford rider on 41 points, the USA’s Rich Fellers on 39, and both France’s Patrice Delaveau and Netherlands rider Jur Vrieling on 38 points. Not far behind is Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat on 36.

On Sunday night at 8pm the final leg of the World Cup Final takes place, with the best 30 riders going into the first round, and the best 20 then competing for the World Cup trophy in the last round.

Allen said after his speed victory early this morning: “I was always going to try and win the class but for it to come off is amazing. I’m very happy with the my horse, she jumped super, the atmosphere and the arena were very different, but she coped really well with it.”

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**Live video coverage from Las Vegas starts on www.feitv.org (by subscription) at 02:50 am Irish time on Saturday. Live results will also be tweeted by Team Ireland Equestrian (@TeamIRLEq) and featured on Team Ireland Equestrian’s Facebook page here ++

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