EQUESTRIAN SPORT:DENIS LYNCH, the Tipperary rider based in Germany, landed the €100,000 Qatar Grand Prix on Saturday night riding the 10-year-old bay gelding Lantinus for his patron Flaminia Straumann.
Five combinations made it through to the third timed round and 31-year-old Lynch galvanised his mount to stop the clock on 49.49.
Second place went to Germany's Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst and the Holstein gelding Lord Luis, who came home clear in 49.95.
"I think a lot of this horse," said Lynch.
"He has scope and is quick and careful. It's great to get a major win like that under your belt, especially with the quality of the opposition."
Jessica Kürten was also in action at the five-star show in Doha but failed to make the jump-off when Castle Forbes Libertina lowered a pole in the second round.
At the four-star show in Arezzo, Italy, Cameron Hanley and Sevil Sabanci's 10-year-old bay stallion SIEC Royal Star recorded a highly unusual dead-heat in the 1.45 million Gold Tour jump-off, splitting the spoils with Spanish rider Sergio Alvarez Moya and Abab van het Molenhof.
At home, the first international event of the year took place on Saturday at the Co Down venue of Tyrella, where local rider Steven Smith came out best on Sarah Allwood's Quality VH.
Weather and ground conditions were ideal for the inaugural running of this class where the Ian Stark-designed cross-country class caused quite a few problems with two eliminations and three retirements.
Those who made it through to the show-jumping phase were faced with a technical, up to height track with just one combination leaving all the fences intact.
