Fifth place finish for Mark McAuley in Lyon World Cup

Co Louth’s Mark McAuley has added to an excellent run of Irish results on the international stage this weekend, with a fifth place in today’s Longines FEI World Cup Grand Prix at Lyon’s five-star show in France with the 13-year-old gelding Miebello.

Mark McAuley and Miebello

Eleven combinations managed to jump clear in the opening round to set up what proved to be a thrilling jump-off against the clock. McAuley was third to go in the second round with the Eva Lundin owned grey gelding and they took the lead when shaving a hundredth of a second off the target of 40.01 seconds which had been set by Britain’s Michael Whitaker with Calisto Blue.

The French crowd were treated to a thrilling contest where the lead changed hands on a number of occasions.
Victory eventually went to French rider Simon Delestre with Hermes Ryan after they posted a blistering clear round in 37.72

The result crowned an excellent weekend for McAuley and Miebello after they took the winners prize in the Longines Grand Prix in Lyon on Friday night to collect €25,000 while he added €21,000 for his fifth place in the World Cup competition.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, Tipperary’s Denis Lynch scored a stunning win in the Longines FEI World Cup at Lexington, Kentucky in the USA. Lynch had made the trip across the Atlantic for a stint on the American circuit and he guided the Rushy Marsh Farm-owned gelding RMF Echo to victory in Lexington, collecting just over $82,000. Mark McAuley has now risen to eighth place on the World Cup league table, one place ahead of Denis Lynch in ninth.