WITH Jessica Kurten confirming her position as favourite to win April's Rolex FEI World Cup Final in Geneva after a second place finish in the Netherlands today (Sunday) put her at the top of the Western European League, Ireland now has three contenders bidding for show jumping's elite prize.

Co. Down's Dermott Lennon, himself a former World Champion, puts his hat in the ring for World Cup glory with an 18th place qualifying position after today's last competition in the 2009/2010 series at 's-Hertogenbosch decided the Western European rankings, while in the US Offaly-born Darragh Kenny has already booked his ticket to Geneva as one of the top seven in America's hotly-contested East Coast league.

The Swiss Final will bring together the world's biggest show jumping stars from 13 different leagues, with qualifying positions decided through 132 preliminary competitions.

Jessica Kurten last featured in the World Cup Final top ten in 2008 when she took an equal fourth on Lady Georgina Forbes's 'Castle Forbes Libertina' at Gothenburg, but was runner-up on the same mare in Kuala Lumpur in 2006. The only other Irish riders to have ever finished in the annual World Cup Final top three were Trevor Coyle and his second place with the famous Irish-bred stallion 'Cruising' in 1999 at Gothenburg, and before that Eddie Macken with 'Carroll's of Dundalk', who took an equal third place 20 years before, again at Gothenburg.