Judy Reynolds rolls on towards Euro glory bid

Irish show jumpers grabbed the equestrian Grand Prix headlines in the past month, but at the weekend it was a dressage double which had the Irish flag flying in Europe with Judy Reynolds and Vancouver K scoring both a Grand Prix and a Grand Prix Special win at the glitzy four-star Fritzens-Schindlhof meeting in Austria.

The Rio finalists notched 75.58% in the Grand Prix on Friday, the pairing’s second-highest ever score in that event, and returned on Sunday to claim their first ever Grand Prix Special.

The latter was hugely significant, not just because it was their first win in the Special, but also because it was the first one they had contested since the Olympics, and to deliver such a result so close to the European Championships was very encouraging.