Paul O'Shea wins Wellington $35,000 Puissance

Ireland's Paul O'Shea built the Wellington crowd into a frenzy tonight as he took Victory in Jumping the big "wall" in the prestigious height jumping competition sponsored by Hermes of Paris....  As his fellow international competitors in the elite class were one by one overcome by the wall, Paul O'Shea from Limerick was able to keep his nerve and steady his horse whilst the stadium packed with spectators sat on the edge of their seats. 

The second round jump off had quickly destroyed the rest of the field leaving only Paul and Pablo Barrios to take on the wall at 2.17 Meters. O'Shea's horse aptly named "Primo Level", owned by Michael Hayden of Ireland proved to have a massive heart given that he was one of the smallest entrants in the field. In the final round Pablo's horse "Gustavo Mirabel" refused twice clearly overwhelmed by the job in hand, the crowd drew deep breathes as O'Shea masterfully circled the wall to settle his mount and collect him for the seemingly impossible task ahead. After Pablo's refusals it seemed like it would take a miracle for O'Shea to even get Primo off the ground....

The consummate professional, O'Shea knew that he didn't have to clear the wall but getting over it was not going to be any easy task either. Talking afterwards Paul explained, " I didn't watch Pablo, I kept my focus on Primo during his run, I knew what ever happened I would have my job to do."  Overwhelmed by the reaction of the crowd Paul was instantly mobbed by well wishers and supporters, inundated by requests for pictures and autographs the Limerick man was clearly a bit shocked by all the attention.

Through out the series at Wellington this winter I can't remember any rider being applauded and congratulated  after a performance the way Paul was tonight, a firm favorite with riders and fans alike it took over half an hour for him to be able to leave the arena. The usual post competition press conference had to take place in the arena with Paul as fans cued up to have their pictures taken with him. Michael Hayden said " I'm in no way surprised  at the fans as Paul is an absolute gentleman and a great guy." 

Paul's individual success follows that of his fellow countrymen as they finished second in the prestigious Nations Cup round here only yesterday, as always with a big impact at Wellington, the Irish effect rolls on !!!