Lynch and Lancelot looking for way forward
On the one hand, he is extremely optimistic that Lancelot can take his place alongside the other knights of Irish show jumping.
On the other hand, he is frustrated about the future. Fundamentally, the German-based Tipperary rider is finding it difficult to plan a campaign for the year. He cites the turmoil that has beset the sport here and, pointing to the ever-diminishing time before the Samsung Super League starts, urges everyone involved to achieve a consensus: put the sport first and consign the politics to the bin.
“Lancelot is a classical nations cup horse,” says 29-year-old Lynch, who runs a competition and dealing yard near Munster, having travelled there - via six months in England - when he was 17.
“If you leave him at his pace, he will jump a lot of clears rounds. I got him as an eight-year-old last year and he’s the best horse I’ve ever had. He has all the scope you could require, ability and a super brain.
“He’s a proper horse and I will find it extremely hard to keep him in the long-term. I know there has been a lot of money offered for him,” says Lynch of the 18.1hh Oldenburg bay, who is by Lancer and out of an Argentinus mare.
If he is as good as Lynch says, then it should come as no surprise that he hopes he will get an opportunity to show off the gelding’s talents in the Samsung Super League this year. However, the fact he is still living in anticipation has Lynch irked, to say the least.
“It would not be too much to ask him to jump in the Super League. He proved it last weekend, when he finished fourth in a competitive 1.60m grand prix at Neumünster. Definitely, the Super League would form part of my plans, but unfortunately, no plan exists in Ireland. Nobody seems to know what anyone is doing.
“At the show last weekend, the Dutch and German riders asked me who was on our long-list for La Baule. They could not believe that we have no idea yet. Others have got their act together and we don’t,” says Lynch, who also notched a double last weekend when steering the 12-year-old stallion Schneesturm to victory by five-hundredths of a second in a 1.55m speed class and won a young horse qualifier with So Limit.
Lynch, like everyone else, knows that time is of the essence if Ireland are to avoid a similar fate to last year, when Billy Twomey and his cohorts put in an heroic performance in the Barcelona final to avoid relegation.
This year, the pressure will be even greater, particularly as there are five Super League shows concentrated in a five-week period in May/June.
The first is La Baule (May 4-7), followed by Aachen (May 17-21), Rome (May 25- 28), Lucerne (June 1- 4). There is a three-week break until Rotterdam (June 22-25), then Hickstead (July 26-30), Dublin (August 9-13) and the final in Barcelona (September 14-17).
Then, there is the small matter of the World Equestrian Games on August 20-September 3.
The bottom line is that Ireland will need all the horsepower it can muster and Lynch says: “It would be nice to jump for my country again”.
Previous outings saw him on the teams in La Baule, Rome, St Gallen, Hickstead and Aachen, with Domingo, a horse he took over from Olympic champion Ulrich Kirchoff.
“He was injured twice with Ulrich and was off for a year before I got him. I was lucky to get a year out of him before he broke down.”
But Lynch says there is no comparison between Lancelot and his predecessor.
“He jumped his first 1.60m grand prix last weekend with confidence and had a double clear. It was his fifth grand prix since December and he has not faulted in any. He may not be the quickest horse in the world, but he has a lot of scope. He is extremely consistent.
Ultimately, however, Lynch says he does not want to be over-critical, but adds: “Hopefully, what I have to say will cause people to focus on what’s ahead.”
* MALCOLM PYRAH is among five candidates vying for the post of manager of the Irish show jumping team.
His application was accepted, despite the criteria for the job demanding the manager be “domiciled” in Ireland.
When asked about this in last Saturday’s Irish Examiner, Pyrah, 64, commented: “Then, obviously, I do not fit the bill, unless they change that.”
However, yesterday, the Equestrian Federation of Ireland (EFI) said: “The reference to Irish domicile is copied from the original team manager’s job description drawn up by the SJAI for Eddie Macken last year.”
The SJAI disputed this yesterday, saying the EFI had a hand in creating this original job description.
The EFI would not go on record to outline its interpretation of the word “domiciled”. Nevertheless, it is known that the federation expects that the manager will reside in Ireland for the duration of the season.
Pyrah was among six people to apply for the position. Following screening by the interview panel one name was dropped, leaving the Briton, Robert Splaine, Tom Slattery, Jack Doyle and Tommy Brennan.
Pyrah, 64, confirmed he was “in discussions” with the EFI and is expected to meet with EFI representatives next week, when he will also call to the Army Equestrian School in McKee Barracks.
Mr Pyrah is a triple European Championship team gold medallist, who also won a silver medal in the 1982 World Championships in Dublin. He suggested that commuting to Ireland did not pose a difficulty these days and said he had built up many Irish connections during his career.
“I am a good friend of (British-based) Billy Twomey and Peter Charles,” said Pyrah.
He said his career had seen him line out as chef d’equipe to the British show jumping team, along with being team trainer for the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympics. He said he was at the Sydney Olympics in an official capacity.
It is unsure if the post of team manager will be discussed at next Monday’s meeting of the EFI executive. Likely to be on the agenda, however, is the make-up of the panel of selectors and the structure for team selection.
Former selectors chairman Taylor Vard, John Ledingham and the SJAI’s Northern Region representative on its International Affairs Committee, James Kiernan, are some of the names being mentioned as selectors.
* JESSICA KÜRTEN has launched an English version of her website. Those interested in getting information on the German-based rider from Cullybackey, Co Antrim, who is ranked number two in the world, should go to: www.jessica-kuerten.de
