Dermott Lennon, whose sensational second-round clear on Friday clinched team gold for Ireland at the European show jumping championships, failed in his bid to add an individual medal to his tally when sliding to sixth overall in yesterday's individual final.

The 32-year-old from Banbridge in Co Down had shown a coolness two days earlier that belied his relative inexperience at this level. But the pressure told yesterday. Lying in bronze medal position overnight, he gave the Harveys' mare Liscalgot a superb ride to stay faultless all the way to the last two fences. But nerves suddenly appeared in a previously nerveless jockey and rails off both the penultimate upright and the final oxer fell to drop Lennon to fifth at the break.

With the pressure eased and the prospect of another medal rapidly evaporating, Lennon returned to his laid-back attitude in the second round and this time Liscalgot left all the furniture untouched. A slightly slow start told on the clock, however, and the resulting two time faults dropped Lennon down another slot to sixth in the final line-up.

Jessica Kurten, who had started the day in eighth, moved up to seventh after the first round having faulted just once with Bonita coming out of the combination. But the ascent was reversed at the second attempt and Kurten, whose double four-faulter on Friday had played such a major part in the team gold, added a further eight to her tally to slide to 13th.

The Germans, thwarted by Ireland and Sweden in their bid for a hat-trick of team golds on Friday, had better cause for celebration yesterday when Ludger Beerbaum claimed the individual crown he last wore in Mannheim four years ago. Belgium's Ludo Philippaerts took the silver, fractionally ahead of Sweden's team silver medallist Rolf Goran Bengtsson.