CIAN O’Connor became the top ranked Irish show jumper in this month’s FEI Longines World Rankings.

A good month of August saw him take two victories at the five-star Dublin Horse Show and the Co Kildare man was part of the gold medal winning team at the European Championships in Gothenburg before winning the individual bronze medal.

Those results saw him jump six places into the top 20 at number 19, just one place ahead of fellow gold medal team member Bertram Allen in 20th place. Allen, who picked up two wins of his own in Dublin, had previously been the top ranked Irish rider since 2015.

The two remaining members of the victorious Irish team have also made substantial gains this month. Denis Lynch moves up eight places to 27th, while Cork man Shane Sweetnam has also risen eight places to 35.

Derry’s Daniel Coyle, who returned to Ireland from Canada last month for the Dublin Horse Show, has slipped three places to 41st, while Darragh Kenny remains at number 43 and completes the six Irish riders in the top 50.

Tipperary-born Shane Breen has made the biggest gain of all this month, rising 52 places to number 58 (from 110). Breen’s string was boosted this summer by the arrival of the Team Z7 horses and a number of five-star wins in Dublin and Valence gives his ranking a massive boost.

America’s Kent Farrington continues to lead the way at world number one for the fourth consecutive month, with Italian Lorenzo de Luca moving up one place to number two. Reigning world champion McLain Ward is third. Ireland, USA and France all have six riders in the top 50.

REYNOLDS ON TOP

Kildare dressage sensation Judy Reynolds is again ranked within the top 20 in the world, slipping two places to number 16, after having to withdraw from the European Championships following a minor injury to her horse Vancouver K. Her ranking makes her the highest ranked equestrian athlete in Ireland.

There are three Irish eventers in the top 50 world rankings. Galway’s Cathal Daniels leads the way in 37th, down 16 places from 21. Sarah Ennis has jumped 23 places to 44 after a seventh place finish at the European Championships in Poland last month, and Sam Watson moves into the top 50 at number 47.

Meanwhile, the penultimate 2017 World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses rankings, released this week, show the Irish Sport Horse studbook has dropped to its lowest place yet in the eventing category. Last year’s winning studbook is now ranked fifth in a tightly-grouped pack, 104 points behind the the Oldenburg studbook.

The German studbook’s best performer, Horseware Hale Bob, is now in second place in the individual rankings behind his European silver medal teammate fischerRocana FST.

The top six horses from each WBFSH member studbook count towards its points and the leading Irish-breds, all clustered in the top-40 in the August rankings, are Cooley SRS (16th), Cooley Cross Border (25th), Harbour Pilot (29th), Horseware Stellor Rebound (37th), The Duke Of Cavan (39th) and Ardagh Highlight (40th).

The Oldenburg studbook again features in the show jumping top-five, although the clear leader is the main Belgian studbook, the BWP. Their number one horse Halifax van het Kluizebos maintains his place as the WBFSH leading show jumping horse, while another of Lorenzo de Luca’s string Limestone Grey (77th) retains his position too as the leading Irish-bred.