EQUESTRIAN: IRELAND'S CIAN O'Connor landed the opening show jumping class at Olympia, London yesterday afternoon when Umberto, his winning ride in the speed Derby at Geneva last weekend, set an unbeatable time in the 1.45m two-phase competition.

Clear in the speed section in 25.15, Meath-based O’Connor and Declan McEvoy’s nine-year-old gelding comfortably bettered the time of the early leader, Britain’s Ben Maher on Toklund (26.42), before holding off the challenge of the host nation’s John Whitaker who was a sixth of a second slower with Dazzle II (26.42).

Jessica Kürten is competing at five-star level in La Coruna, where the show commences today, Denis Lynch and Dermott Lennon represent Ireland at the four-star show in Frankfurt.