CONOR Swail and Denis Lynch will fly the Irish flag at next week’s Longines FEI World Cup Final in Leipzig, Germany which begins on Thursday. A total of 36 athletes from 19 countries line out in a bid to lift the coveted trophy for the first time since 2019 due to Covid-19 forced cancellations in 2020 and 2021.

World number seven Conor Swail topped the North American League and heads from Florida to Germany in excellent form with both Vital Chance de la Roque, who was runner-up in the four-star Grand Prix at WEF two weeks’ ago, and Count Me In.

Tipperary’s Denis Lynch, who is ranked 22nd in the world, topped the Western European League and he takes GC Chopin’s Bushi and Cristello to Leipzig.

Britain are represented by two young World Cup first-timers in Harry Charles (22) and Jack Whitaker (20) and the pair are joined by veteran John Whitaker who won the competition in 1990 and 1991 with the great Milton. Amazingly, John first made the podium 40 years ago at Gothenburg in 1982 with Ryan’s Son.

Defending champion Steve Guerdat brings Victorio Des Frotards and he is joined in the Swiss camp by world number three Martin Fuchs who finished runner-up in 2019.

Guerdat and Germany’s Marcus Ehning have both won the prestigious competition three times and next week both will bid to become the only rider to win four times. Ehning is joined by four more Germans who will all be aiming to lift the trophy on home soil.

The USA have the biggest entry with nine riders, led by the 2017 Omaha champion McLain Ward with his Tokyo 2020 silver medal-winning mount Contagious. The champion will be crowned next Sunday, April 10th, after three days of jumping.

The dressage, driving and vaulting World Cup Finals also take place at the venue. Some 18 combinations have qualified for the dressage finals, led by the current Olympic and European champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera BB.