Successful weekend for Tipperary showjumpers in United Arab Emirates and The Netherlands

The Breen brothers from Tipperary, Shane and Trevor, were mixing it with the big guns at a showjumping event in the United Arab Emirates at the weekend, making the long trip pay significant dividends.

Meanwhile, another Tipperary showjumper, Denis Lynch, Denis Lynch won his second two-star class in under a week.

Cian O'Connor and Iron Man beat all bar Kevin Staut (France) and New Libero One d’Asschaut in Abu Dhabi in Sunday’s President’s Cup, a 1.60 metres competition in which Shane Breen and Z7 Oilina were sixth.

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There must have been a tinge of disappointment for Breen, as he missed the jump-off by virtue of one time fault.

Five made it through to the tie-breaker and O’Connor and Iron Man earned €33,000 with a second faultless round in 36.07 seconds, with Staut and his 12-year-old stallion leaving no doubt by stopping the clock on 34.79. It was one of O'Connor's three runners-up finishes over the weekend.

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Earlier on, O’Connor brought the nine-year-old Gengis Kann de Londe to their second silver in 24 hours, in the 1.55 metres jumping competition, which was won by Khaled Almobty (KSA), piloting Davenport VDL.

They secured the middle berth of the podium thanks to a 40.52 clear round on the second go, while Trevor Breen and Luidam’s Warrior were fourth on 41.48.

On Saturday, O’Connor and his prodigious son of Kannan had also won a silver medal in a two-phase class, won by Richard Vogel (GER) with Phenyo van het Keysersbos, with Trevor Breen rounding off a top-five berth once again with Luidam’s Warrior.

The latter pair were fifth into the arena, and after going clear in the first round, they slipped through the gears nicely against the clock to post another clear with a time of 29.12 seconds.

On Sunday morning, Shane Breen was third in the two-star Grand Prix on BP Arctic Blue, with Britain’s Georgia Tame the winner. And the Hickstead-based Tipperary athlete Shane Breen posted a top-five finish in the five-star Grand Prix qualifier on Friday night, in which O’Connor was sixth.

Victory in that speed class went to David Will (Germany), with Zinedream stopping the clock on 60.90 seconds. But Breen and Team Z7’s Z7 Oilina were very competitive with a clear in 62.26 to bag a considerable portion of the prize fund.

Meanwhile, Denis Lynch won his second two-star class in under a week, returning to the scene of his Grand Prix victory at Peelbergen in The Netherlands with a triumph in the Grand Prix qualifier at the same venue on Thursday, this time riding King Blue. 

It was an easy course, with 21 combinations going clear. A dozen of those repeated that effort second time around but it was Lynch and his ten-year-old, owned by Sara Lamyman, that were by quickest by far, their time of 38.78 seconds more than a second a quarter better than that recorded by Marlon Modolo Zanotelli (BRA), who finished runner-up on Firefox Gem.