TIPPERARY’S Denis Lynch got off to a promising start at the five-star Longines FEI Jumping World Cup fixture in Leipzig, Germany (January 15th - 18th), when he was a close runner-up in Thursday’s five-star 1.45m Opening speed competition. Lynch jumped a clear round on board the 10-year-old gelding Zensation 2 (VDL Zirocco Blue x Clarimo) in a time of 57.50, when fourth into the arena. Germany’s Marvin Jüngel and Helene 50 bettered that by just half a second to win the class in 57.00. There were 52 on the start list, 18 of whom jumped clear within the allocated time.

There were a number of Irish competitors at the show, including Antrim’s Arielle Allen, who rode Kandice Z into 10th place in Thursday’s 1.40m Large Tour Amateur Trophy speed class.

Lynch and Shogun STS finished fifth in the day’s Youngster Tour qualifier for eight-year-old horses, a 1.35m speed class, from a start list of 28. Lynch and his mount jumped clear in a time of 56.02. It was a one-two-three for Germany, with the win going to Michael Kolz on Bento 266 (53.06), just over two seconds ahead of Felix Hassmann on Casablanca AWZ in second (55.07) and Tobias Schwarz on Euphoria in third (55.81).

Allen and Kandice Z improved on their previous placing when they finished fifth in Friday’s 1.40m Large Tour Amateur Trophy two-phase class, clocking a phase two time of 34.64. The top four places went to German combinations, led by joint winners Luise Konle on Luv and Nicole Klement on Cherry Pop, who both stopped the clock in a speedy 28.97.

https://foto.ifj.ie/fotoweb/archives/5006-Irish-Horse-World/Irish%20Horse%20World/2025/RJIA4508.jpg.info#c=%2Ffotoweb%2Farchives%2F5006-Irish-Horse-World%2F%3Fq%3Dniamh%2520mcevoy

Niamh Mcevoy and Olympic 'Gl' 'Fvd', pictured here winning the Plusvital Premier 1.50M Grand Prix Final at the Breeders Classic last year \laurence dunne jumpinaction.net

Placings

Niamh McEvoy was best of the Irish in Friday’s five-star 1.55m Longines FEI Jumping World Cup qualifier, when she rode Olympic ‘gl’ ‘fvd’ into 10th place with a clear round in 69.82. The win went to Jur Vrieling (NED) on Grand Slam VDL in a time of 63.72. The class saw 49 combinations go to post, with 12 of them managing to keep the fences intact.

On Saturday, Allen and Kandice Z finished as runners-up in the 1.40m Large Tour speed class, when they kept a clean slate in 53.45 - a mere 0.2 seconds behind Italian winner, Elvezia Pappone on Dacoucha (53.25).

Ciaran Nallon finished on the podium in the Youngster Tour qualifier for eight-year-old horses, a 1.40m speed class, when he rode Little Special In Red M into third place in a time of 57.43. Hungary’s Tamas Mraz won the class with Neorado T in 55.62. Lynch and Shogun STS placed ninth this time.

There were two Irish in the top 10 of the 1.55m Championat der Stadt Leipzig jump-off class, when Lynch and the 10-year-old Chicago took sixth place with one of just six double clears in the class (42.74). Nallon and Casalla Blue PS placed eighth after picking up four faults in the jump-off. Steve Guerdat (SUI) took the top spot with Is-Minka when they finished in 36.13 - nearly two and a half seconds in front of their nearest rival, Gerrit Nieberg (GER) on IB Queen (38.58).

In the ribbons

Lynch was back in the ribbons in the 1.45m speed and handiness competition when he rode Zensation 2 into fourth place in 54.03. Marvin Jüngel (GER) and Helene 50 claimed the win in a time of 52.76.

Sunday saw Allen and Kandice Z finish eighth in the1.40m Large Tour Final jump-off class, when they were fastest of the four-faulters from round one, while Nallon (Little Special In Red M) and Lynch (Shogun STS) placed seventh and ninth respectively in the Youngster Tour Final for eight-year-olds, a 1.45m two-phase class. Both Irish riders were among the nine who jumped clear in the first round, with each of them collecting four faults second time out. Tom Schewe (GER) on Amanda Blue won the class with a double clear in 25.37.

The 40-strong 1.60m Longines FEI Jumping World Cup class on Sunday was won by Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat on Albfuehren’s Iashin Sitte (42.21), ahead of Simon Delestre (FRA) on Gatsby du Tillard in second (43.25) and Gerrit Nieberg (GER) on Ping Pong van de Lentamel in third (44.54).