MAYO’S Jonathan Gordon pulled off a fantastic win in the 30th International Stuttgart German Masters with his new mare Emma Brown.

In front of nearly 8,000 spectators, the 20-year-old Irishman got the better of some of the world’s top riders to clinch the victory at the five-star show.

Gordon won the final of the BW-Bank Indoor Championships in the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle last Thursday evening in a thriller that had the home crowd on the edge of their seats.

Gordon, who competes for the local RV Altheim Club, relegated the 200 winner Alexander Schill into second place.

A mistake last year in the jump-off cost him the win but there were no such mistakes this time round. “This year I wanted to be the No. 1,” said Jonathan Gordon who dedicated his victory to “my sponsor and boss Manfred Marschall.”

He also praised his mare Emma Brown: “I’ve been riding her for the past three months and she has done nothing wrong. She’s a wonderful horse.”

In the jump-off with the nine riders that went clear in the first round, the young Irishman again left all the fences standing when stopping the clock in 32.33 seconds.

Stefan Schütz, spokesman of the BW-Bank, was thrilled: “Congratulations to Jonathan Gordon! It was a joy to watch him. It’s wonderful seeing how full the stands are. We’re looking forward to again being a part of the event next year,” said Schütz.

Alexander Schill placed second on the Holstein stallion Chass (0/32.73) and finished ahead of Timo Beck on the gelding Cayenne (0/33.21) – he is a five-time winner of the unofficial state indoor Championships.

Gordon donned his Batman costume to win the CSI***** 1.40m International Speed & Handiness, costume class, worth €17,000. Gordon flew around the course to beat Bertram Allen (Wild Thing) into second while Shane Breen (Calido Boy) was 17th. See A73 for more on Stuttgart.