Irish Riders Excel

DENIS Lynch secured one of Ireland's biggest show jumping victories this year when winning the Aachen Grand Prix in Germany on Sunday on Flaminia Straumann's bay gelding 'Lantinus, after a four-way jump-off. The Tipperary rider won 115,000 euro in prize money.

Earlier the team of Lynch, Billy Twomey, Cian O'Connor and Capt. David O'Brien improved Ireland's ranking in the 2009 Meydan Nations' Cup series when they finished fifth at Aachen. Team member Cian O'Connor also won the Aachen Speed Derby with the mare 'Baloufina'.

At the same venue, Anna Merveldt made dressage history when finishing 14th in a field of 31 at the five-star Grand Prix, Ireland's best result at this level since Merveldt took the same place in the European Championships in Verden, Germany in 2001.

Irish Young Riders came tantalisingly close to gaining a medal when finishing joint fourth in the European Championships in Hoofddorp, Holland on Friday. The team of Kelly O'Connor, David Simpson, David Blake and Alex Duffy collected 18 faults in the Nations' Cup, on a par with Germany. The Team Championships were won by Spain after a jump-off with France. Ireland last won a Young Rider Team Medal when taking Silver in 2000 at Hartpury in England.

At San Sebastian in Spain, Ireland's Jessica Kurten had a fourth place result in the two-star Grand Prix with 'Castle Forbes La Vie du Fraigneau' and also finished second with the same horse in Sunday's accumulator competition.