Lynch and Contifex impress

Show jumper Denis Lynch gave further notice of the potential of his up-and-coming stallion Contifex when fourth with the nine-year-old in the Rolex World Cup class in Bordeaux, France, at the weekend.

The Tipperary native was one of 10 to make the jump-off of a hotly-contested penultimate qualifier before April’s final in ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. Third last to go, he produced another nice clear to slot in behind Kevin Staut, who claimed victory on home turf with Silvana HDC.

German-based Lynch has been asking questions of the Cornet Obolensky-offspring in recent months and getting the right answers, including winning a 1.50m accumulator at the World Cup fixture in Geneva, though there was no sign of hyperbole after yesterday’s performance.

“He looks like a very nice young horse,” said Lynch, who has already qualified with ease for the final and now lies third in the Western European League.

Cork’s Billy Twomey, riding Tinka’s Serenade, was one of 12 riders from 38 starters to drop out of contention in round one with four faults.

At the three-star show in Treffen Villach, Austria, former Army officer Shane Carey finished runner-up with Trebox Acorada, owned by Cian O’Connor’s company Ronnoco Jump. Earlier, Mayo’s Alex Duffy won top prize in a 1.40m contest with Romeo’s Child.

Meanwhile, after almost a year’s discussion, Horse Sport Ireland is to introduce national anti-doping rules for all equestrian disciplines, after unanimous agreement by its board.

The programme, which begins on April 1, after each of the HSI affiliates amends its rules, is based on the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) two-strand model, covering controlled medications and banned substances. The former are legitimate equine medications, but which are not allowed in competition, while the latter are deemed to have no legitimate use in horses.

The new rules include a number of amendments sought by affiliate ShowjumpingIreland, and HSI chairman Joe Walsh described their introduction as a seminal moment for the Irish equestrian sector:

“Unfortunately the reputation of the Irish equestrian sector has been tarnished in the past and we have ground to make up. We need to show the general public and people coming to Ireland to buy horses that we have a no-nonsense approach to the use of prohibited substances in our sport,” he said.