TIPPERARY’S Denis Lynch made his trip to the five-star fixture at Gothenburg, Sweden (February 18th until Sunday, February 22nd) worthwhile over the weekend, when he rode the 11-year-old mare Katja to win Saturday’s Prize of Agria 1.50m speed class out of 24 starters. Lynch rode a super clear round to stop the clock in 55.16 seconds - over a second ahead of runner-up Yuri Mansur (BRA) on Mister Jup, who finished in 56.36. Germany’s Sandra Auffarth on Comcador OLD completed the podium in third in a time of 59.58.

There were eight combinations in the class, who finished on a zero score, with Lynch claiming €12,500 for first place, €10,000 going to Mansur and €7,500 to Auffarth.

The show concluded on Sunday afternoon with the 1.60m Longines FEI Jumping World Cup class, which saw 36 accomplished horses and riders going to post. Of these, just eight jumped clear within the time allowed in round one to secure a place against the clock, with five of them managing to complete their second round with all the poles intact.

Willem Greve (NED) proved best on board Grandorado TN NOP in a time of 42.19 to take home the top prize of €77,500, with fellow Dutch rider Kim Emmen riding Imagine NOP into second place less than half a second behind (42.65) for €62,000. Third place went to Sweden’s Malin Baryard-Johnsson on H&M Indiana (42.90), who collected €46,500.