Lynch takes biggest show jumping prize pot of weekend

TIPPERARY’S Denis Lynch took the biggest prize pot of this weekend’s international show jumping, pocketing 28,500 euro for a fourth place in the Global Champions Tour Grand Prix at Madrid on Saturday night.

Riding Abbervail van het Dingeshof, the Irish rider made it through the first two rounds to qualify as one of eight in the jump-off, but then a single mistake pushed him down the leaderboard, with the only clear going to British winner Michael Whitaker and Viking, who collected the substantial winner’s prize of 94,000 euro.

In Ebreichsdorf, Jessica Kurten and VDL Zapatero were best of the Irish with a sixth place in the Grand Prix, with victory going to Britain’s Keith Shore and Mystic Hurricane. Earlier in the day Cian O’Connor won the Small Grand Prix with Unique, his third top ten placing at the Austrian show.

In Belgium, Shane Breen took second place in the Lummen two-star Grand Prix with Golden Hawk, yielding first place to yet another British rider, Daniel Neilson with Coco Bongo.