IRISH international show jumper Denis Lynch is to marry his Australian show jumping girlfriend Julia Hargreaves next month,

The Tipperary-born show jumper, who was a member of the Irish team that finished fifth at the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup final last Saturday, announced publicly during the week that he will marry Hargreaves in Ireland this coming November.

However Irish Horse World has learned that the pair have already been engaged for a number of months.

Lynch has been dating 30-year-old Hargreaves, who represented Australia at the 2012 London Olympic Games and finished in 35th place individually, for a number of years.

Lynch is based near the Dutch border in Germany, while Hargreaves has her competition yard in the nearby town of Bonn.

Competing at the prestigious LA Masters show with Campino 344 and Ho Go Van De Padenborre this weekend, Lynch will now aim his top horse, All Star 5, at the World Cup season and the big five-star indoor show in Basel, Switzerland, hosted by Lynch’s big supporter Thomas Straumann.

He has had a hectic year on the circuit with his Nations Cup commitments for Ireland and is also kept busy training clients.

Between himself and Hargreaves, they train 23-year-old Australian show jumper Georgie Harvey, the daughter of Lady Harvey and heiress to Harvey Norman, as well as occasionally training Thomas Straumann’s daughter, Flaminia.