DENIS Lynch was the individual leader of the Longines Global Champions Tour going into the Shanghai show at the Juss International Equestrian Centre last week and he contributed handsomely to his team, New York Empire, finishing third in the Longines Global Champions League on Friday night.

However, a failure to add to his score in the Longines Shanghai Grand Prix led to him dropping to fifth in the overall individual standings, with Edwina Tops-Alexander (AUS) taking over at the top of the table.

The Tipperary athlete remains in a strong position, however, and exhibited the depth he has at his disposal during the weekend, with Michael Duffy also performing well on China’s central coast.

Lynch was clear in the first LGCT speed class over 1.55m on Friday on Mr Boombastic, with the competition won by Thibault Philippaerts of Belgium, with Lyandro MDB.

Duffy also jumped a good round with Cantano 32, who had one rail down. The Galwegian then returned with his 11-year-old in the 1.60m speed competition to go clear and finish sixth, scraping just inside the 75-second barrier by one-hundredth of a second.

Lynch and Brooklyn Heights also jumped clear in that competition, which went the way of Julien Anquetin (FRA) with Blood Diamond du Pont.

It was Lynch’s first competition score that contributed to New York Empire making the podium at the end of the night behind the hosts, Shanghai Swans.

In what was a spectacular display of team show jumping, the Swans clinched victory in the team event for the second year running at the third stage of the 2025 GCL season. With the enthusiastic crowd on their feet, it was a flawless performance with Ben Maher and Max Kühner delivering when it mattered most.

“There were a lot of teams on four faults and you never quite know what is going to happen with the teams on zero… but I said to Max before I went in, start with a positive attitude and keep it a little bit quick,” Maher said.

“My round all went to plan, and I think it also set Max off in a good stead and he emulated my round - a little bit quicker on me, putting enough pressure on the teams ahead.”

Valkenswaard United soared up the rankings with a gritty and composed performance from Marcus Ehning and Gilles Thomas, who held their nerve to claim the runner-up position on four faults but six seconds slower. With a brand-new rider lineup featuring U25 Robert Murphy, New York Empire rounded off the podium.

Speaking on behalf of New York Empire, Scott Brash said: “It really is so important to us for the team, with Denis going clear in round one, we knew we had a good choice between the three of us going into round one, and it is great to know we have some strong horses around us for the season ahead.”

Shanghai Swans now take a narrow lead on 71 points, with last year’s champions Cannes Stars, powered by Iron Dames, slipping to second on 68 points and Valkenswaard United are hot on their heels with 53 points with New York Empire in fourth.

Deusser’s day

It may have been Lynch’s birthday but Daniel Deusser lit up day two of the competition on Saturday when he delivered a breathtaking performance in the CSI5* 1.50m jump-off.

Riding the electric 11-year-old Otello de Guldenboom, Deusser, as first to go in the final round, laid down an unbeatable time of 39.98 seconds, earning him a second victory of the weekend and sparking a roar of approval from the local crowd.

Birthday boy Denis Lynch followed with a polished clear round, but couldn’t quite match Deusser’s pace and had to settle for ninth place at the end of play on 45.86 seconds.

Speaking to GCTV after his win, Deusser, already a podium finisher at the LGCT Grand Prix of Doha, said: “The horse is [in] very good shape, he won already yesterday… today I didn’t have the best position to go first in the competition and then first in the jump off. I tried to take a certain risk to put a little bit of pressure on the others that followed, and it was just enough!”

Gilles Thomas ultimately settled for second, just a whisker behind with Elfra van Beek Z. Flying Frenchman Simon Delestre, once again, proved his consistency with a brilliant round aboard Golden Boy DK, clinching third.

In the €40,000 Baojun Prize CSI 5* on Saturday, Jur Vrieling (NED) teamed up with Helwell du Chabus to claim top honors.

Twenty-three combinations took part in the two-phase special challenge, but only seven of them were clean after crossing the final timers. In the end, it was Vrieling and the 12-year-old Belgian Sport Horse mare (Elvis ter Putte x Orlando) who were victorious, completing the second section of the course in 34.76 seconds.

Just over a half-second separated the top two contestants at the top of the final standings. Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann (GER) and Iron Dames High Level secured second place in 35.27 seconds. Inès Joly (FRA) and Imposant van de Renger impressed too, rounding out the top three in 36.47 seconds.

Sunday sizzler

In a heart-pounding climax to the weekend, Lynch’s LGCT team-mate Scott Brash and Hello Chadora Lady surged to victory in the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Shanghai, earning the richest reward from the €626,000 prize pot and securing his first LGCT Grand Prix win since 2019.

Returning to winning form on the world stage, Brash and the electric 12-year-old mare delivered two faultless rounds.

Speaking at the press conference after his victory, Brash said: “There really are incredible facilities at this venue, which always brings out the best in the sport. And today was a very well-built track, it was tough but fair. I walked the course and I wasn’t sure how many clears there would be, but that shows the standard of horses and riders that are here in Shanghai.”

The jump-off featured a high-calibre lineup of 16 contenders, but it was Brash who stole the spotlight this time, stopping the clock in a lightning-fast 43.94 seconds.

Just 0.17s behind was Gilles Thomas aboard Luna van het Dennehof, fresh off last year’s win at this very venue. Completing the podium was Spain’s Eduardo Alvarez Aznar, piloting Legend to third place with another double clear. Michael Duffy and Claptonn Mouche were 14th here.