Denis Lynch and All Star 5 finish fifth at World Cup Finals

A SUPERB performance from Tipperary’s Denis Lynch and the stallion All Star 5, saw them finish in fifth place overall as the Longines World Cup Final came to a conclusion at Gothenburg in Sweden today (Monday).

Lynch and the 13-year-old All Star were the only combination to jump five clear rounds over three demanding days of jumping in front of over 11,000 spectators at the Scandinavium Arena.

Having been in 22nd position after the opening speed class on Friday, Lynch climbed the leaderboard over each of the following four rounds and received a standing ovation from the Swedish crowd in the prize giving ceremony, as the only pair not to touch a fence.

Denis Lynch and All Star 5 pictured during the final round at the Longines World Cup Final in Gothenburg (Photo: Stefan Keturi/Rockmountain Studios)

Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat retained the World Cup crown he won 12 months ago in Las Vegas, after he topped the standings with the 10-year-old gelding Corbinian. Dutch rider Harrie Smolders finished as runner-up with Emerald, while Germany’s Daniel Deusser took the last spot on the podium with Cornet d’Amour.

Former World Cup winner – the 20-year-old Irish Sport Horse Flexible, finished with just one fence down in today’s final round and was by far the oldest horse in the competition with American rider Rich Fellers.

Irish Show Jumping manager Robert Spaine said: “These World Cup finals are a Championships at the very highest level and for Denis and All Star to jump five clear rounds this week was an outstanding performance. They are a combination who are clearly on-form and the ease at which they jumped these big World Cup courses was very impressive. To finish fifth is a brilliant result for Denis, his horse’s owners and for Ireland and he can probably count himself unlucky not to win after being the only pair not to knock a fence.”

Denis Lynch and All Star 5 received a standing ovation from 11,000 spectators at the Scandinavium Arena in Gothenburg when they jumped five clear rounds to finish fifth at the Longines World Cup Finals (Photo: Stefan Keturi/Rockmountain Studios)

The result caps a superb weekend for Irish Equestrian Sports, with a host of excellent results in Europe and in the USA.

Kildare’s Judy Reynolds made history at Gothenburg on Sunday, when she scored a top 10 finish as the first Irish rider to compete at the Reem Acra Dressage World Cup Finals.

Meath-based Cian O’Connor collected $200,000 after a runner-up finish with the stallion Good Luck in the Great American Million Dollar Grand Prix at Ocala in Florida on Sunday night.

Also on Sunday, at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington Florida, Limerick’s Paul O’Shea finished third in the $86,000 Suncast Championship with NLF Favourite.

Earlier in France, the Irish Eventing team got their preparations for the Olympic Games in Rio off to an excellent start when they finished third in the Fontainebleau Nations Cup.

Denis Lynch and All Star 5  (Photo: Stefan Keturi / Rockmountain Studios)