Irish duo looking to make history as Longines FEI World Cup Finals begin today in Leipzig

The 2022 Longines FEI World Cup Show Jumping Finals get underway today (Thursday) at Leipzig in Germany, where Tipperary’s Denis Lynch and Co Down’s Conor Swail will be looking to make history and become the first ever Irish winner in the 42-year history of the competition.

Denis Lynch will be hoping for a repeat of the performance which saw him win the 2020 FEI World Cup qualifier in Leipzig

Eddie Macken, Trevor Coyle, Jessica Kurten and Bertram Allen have all finished on the World Cup Final podium in the past but as yet, no Irish rider has taken the coveted top prize.

Lynch and Swail arrive in Leipzig having had very impressive results in the qualifying rounds on the way to the Finals. Lynch finished on top of the hugely competitive Western European World Cup league table, while Swail who is now ranked at No.5 in the world, also finished on top of the North American World Cup table.

Conor Swail arrives in Leipzig at No.5 on the latest Longines World Rankings

The draw for today’s opening speed competition took place on Wednesday and the Irish pair have been given favourable positions. Swail will be 29th of the 35 starters into the arena riding the 15-year-old gelding Count Me In, while Lynch is 31st to go with the 15-year-old stallion Cristello. The defending Longines FEI Jumping World Cup champion is Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat, who is chasing his fourth victory in the long-running series.

Today’s first competition gets underway at 1.35pm Irish time. The second round of the FEI World Cup Finals takes place on Friday afternoon, before the new Longines FEI World Cup champion is crowned following Sunday’s final decider.

The Longines FEI World Cup Finals will be shown live on FEITV.