DENIS Lynch’s fantastic horse All Star 5 has been officially retired from the sport and will stand at stud in Paul Schockemöhle’s German stable. The Thomas Straumann-owned 16-year-old stallion by Argentinus has taken Lynch to some of his best days, including a team gold medal at the European Championships in 2017.

He started his international career with Lynch in 2011, coming 3rd in his first 1.50m. Since then, All Star 5 has won and been placed in a number of major Grands Prix all over the world and finished 9th individually at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy.

With the support of his owner, Mr Straumann, All Star 5 was a mainstay of the Irish show jumping team. They competed at two European Championships in Aachen (2015) and Gothenburg (2017), where a clear round in the final team competition helped Ireland to the gold medal.

“All Star 5 has been an incredibly loyal and consistent producer of results over the years. He has such a lovely temperament and was always level headed for the big events. He will be a big loss to my stable but he has more than paid his dues over the years,” Lynch told The Irish Field today.

“Beautiful big jumpers like ‘Simba’ don’t come along very often and I am so grateful to have had the chance to ride him. His retirement was carefully planned with Mr Straumann and I'm delighted that he has retired at the top which is no less than he deserved.

“He has gone to stud in Paul Schockemöhle’s yard in Germany and both myself and my daughter Sarah, who grew up watching All Star develop and then compete at the very top level, will miss the big fella greatly,” he added.