Victory for Lynch in Mechelen Grand Prix

TIPPERARY’S Denis Lynch scored Ireland’s first win at the five star show in Mechelen, Belgium tonight (Monday), taking victory in the Grand Prix with Thomas Straumann’s bay gelding Abbervail van het Dingeshof.

Lynch, who collected 12,500 euro for his first place, also saw fellow Tipp rider Thomas Ryan claim sixth place on Aschwanden Simone’s grey gelding Caribo.

Both Irish riders made it through to the 12 horse jump-off from a starting field of 44, and though both recorded clear rounds, it was Lynch’s time of 30.19 seconds in the final round that proved unbeatable.

Dutch star Jur Vrieling and Flash Dance V. Kalevallei came closest to catching Lynch – who at 22nd in the world show jumping rankings is currently six places below Vrieling – with just a fifth of a second separating the two. Only seven combinations managed to achieve double clear rounds in the Grand Prix.

Later in the evening, Lynch picked up a further 2,250 euro for third place in the Six-Bar competition, riding the eight year-old Querida. The competition was won by Wout-Jan van der Schans from the Netherlands, aboard the bay gelding Zorro.

Both Lynch and Ryan will be seeking advantageous starting places in Tuesday night’s big Longines FEI World Cup Qualifier class at the Belgian venue, where valuable points and a total of 170,000 euro prize money is on offer.

Denis Lynch and Abbervail van het Dingeshof