CORK’s Billy Twomey got off to a good start at the five-star Stuttgart German Masters when he galloped to victory in the opening 1.45m Prize of Bardusch aboard the traditional Irish Sport Horse stallion Ardcolum Duke.

Some 50 combinations lined out over the 1.45m track and from 19 clears, Twomey was the fastest in a time of 18.97 seconds to win €2,500. Owned by Joe Flynn, the 14-year-old stallion Ardcolum Duke has been a prolific winner under Twomy’s command.

Germany’s Andreas Kreuzer in second with Easy Blue (19.18). Tipperary’s Denis Lynch finished just outside the top 10 with the eight-year-old Dito.

Twomey and the stallion were back in the placings in Saturday’s 1.45m Speed and Handiness competition, finishing in third place in a time of 43.07 seconds to secure €3,750. Victory went to Felix Hassmann.

Galway’s Michael Duffy was also in action at the German venue and he placed sixth in Saturday’s 1.55m class aboard Casandra Orpen’s Casis. A double clear round in 40.20 seconds secured him €3,410.

fei world cup

Irish riders were out of luck in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup qualifier when Belgium’s Pieter Devos guided the chesnut gelding Apart to victory by eight seconds.

The first five riders all faulted before Austria’s Max Kühner produced the first clear round of the timed round but wasn’t taking any risks with his eight-year-old gelding PSG Final and his time of 56.62 looked to have left the door wide open with six combinations left to go.

However, Philipp Weishaupt, Olivier Philippaerts and Steve Guerdat all picked up faults and Germany’s Christian Ahlmann also had a slow round aboard the inexperienced Tokyo to produce the second of only three clears in a time of 57.68 seconds to finish third.

Last to go, Devos and Apart set off at pace and they eventually broke the beam in a time of 49.05 seconds to secure the top prize of €80,000.

Devos, ranked number 16 in the world, combines his top level show jumping career with a family business commitment. Speaking about that challenge, he said: “Everyone asks me how I do it and I don’t have the answer because I ask myself that sometimes too!

“My brother and I inherited a big fruit company from our parents when I was 17 or 18… it’s a second-generation business and I’m Commercial Director. I’ve grown up doing both jobs, the fruit business and the horse business, and it works because I have a great team on both sides!”

Devos has moved up to second place on the Western Europan League table with 39 points, just behind Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat who has 41 points.