THERE were runner-up placings for Ireland’s Ciaran Nallon and Denis Lynch at the five-star Longines Global Champions Tour, which moved to Madrid in Spain at the weekend.

In Friday’s five-star Global Champions League (GCL) 1.60m individual speed class, Nallon rode Casalla Blue PS into second place from a start list of 19. Nallon was one of only three clear rounds and his time of 84.17 was good enough for the runner-up position. Hans-Dieter Dreher (GER) on Vestmalle des Cotis won the class in a very fast 79.75. The only other clear was recorded by Ivan Serrano Saez (ESP) on Rain Man, who clocked 84.98 for third place.

Leaderboard

In the GCL First Competition 1.60m speed class, Bertram Allen and Qonquest de Rigo finished equal eighth of the 34 starters, but there were no Irish top 10 results in the Second Competition or the Team placings. The Istanbul Warriors and the Basel Cosmopolitans sit in first and second on the leaderboard after four legs, both on 69 points.

In Saturday’s five-star 1.45m two-phase class, Lynch rode Brooklyn Heights into second place with a double clear in 27.18 - which was only bettered by Italy’s Emanuele Gaudiano on Chabrello PS, who stopped the clock in 26.78. Deirdre Reilly and Derryglen Obsidian placed ninth with a double clear in 32.81.

Nallon and Lynch then placed ninth and 10th in the five-star 1.50m jump-off class, riding Megalon K and Conterno-Blue PS respectively. Germany’s Philipp Weishaupt won the class with Chaquito PS.