Olympia third moves Lennon up to 11th in Western European League

SHOW jumper Dermott Lennon moved to 11th in the World Cup’s Western European League yesterday when third with Hallmark Elite in a hard-fought contest at London’s Olympia.

The performance, which follows a similar result in Toronto, Canada, puts him on 30 league points and well on his way to earning a place alongside Tipperary’s Denis Lynch in April’s final in the Netherlands.

The Co Down rider adopted a strategic approach when third to go in an 11-horse jump-off, opting for longer routes to the critical double and penultimate that yielded him his desired clear round in 42.43 seconds.

Others that followed felt they could do better, but in keeping up the momentum, they paid the price, among them being hotly-tipped American Laura Kraut riding Cedric.

However, Lennon’s time was always susceptible, and Germany’s Marcus Ehning produced a burst of magic with Sabrina to knock over three seconds off the Banbridge man’s target.

Local favourite, Ben Maher, then proved more than a match with the courageous Tripple X III and, in taking a stride out going to the last, he broke the beam a third of a second faster to take the €33,000 top prize.

Former world champion Lennon added €13,200 to his earnings for his victory in Thursday’s jump-off on Loughview Lou Lou.

Billy Twomey’s hopes of replicating his Paris Rolex Top 10 win came unstuck with a single error on Tinka’s Serenade in the opening round.

In La Coruna, Spain, Denis Lynch piloted Lantinus to eighth place in Saturday’s grand prix, picking up an uncharacteristic 12 faults.