Denis Lynch’s first visit to the CP National Horse Show in Lexington, Kentucky paid off when the Tipperary native won Saturday night’s $250,000 Longines FEI World Cup competition on RMF Echo.
From a starting field of 40, Lynch was the only Irish rider to progress to the jump-off round of the 1.60m class where he had eight opponents. Just four combinations managed to record double clears, Lynch being the fastest (36.16) on Rushy Marsh Farm’s RMF Echo, a 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion by Virus de Laubry.
The USA's Lauren Tisbo was narrowly beaten into second with Corlandolo di Ribano (36.52) while third place was filled by Switzerland's Beat Mandli on Dsarie (37.80). The only other double clear was recorded by the host nation's Jennifer Gates on Pumped Up Kicks (40.7).
There were no major wins for Irish riders on the European show jumping circuit on Saturday but, riding Patrick Mielnik's Quirex (33.72), Cameron Hanley finished second in the 1.50m jump-off class in Oldenburg, Germany to the home-based Philip Rupling on Messenger (33.66). At Wierden in The Netherlands,
Dutch rider Willem Greve won the 1.45m Grand Prix on Elke Maria M (36.28) ahead of Ireland's Jonathan Gordon on the mare Kalence Flying (37.09).
