CONOR Swail’s flight issues, which prevented him being able to travel to CHI Geneva for the Rolex International Jumping Riders’ Club (IJRC) Top 10 final proved to be to the benefit of Swiss rider Martin Fuchs.

Fuchs had been in 11th place in the IJRC rankings and therefore hadn’t initially been on the start list for the class, which is only for the top 10 riders, but, when Swail was unable to get to Geneva, Fuchs was given the opportunity to compete and he decided to take up the challenge.

There was great excitement at the Swiss venue on Friday evening, which saw the 23rd Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final being held, with the best horses and riders in the world vying for the coveted title. Fuchs was first into the arena and jumped a perfect first round, setting a high standard for the others to follow.

At the end of the two rounds, only three combinations had managed to jump double clear, deserving their podium places. A home victory went to Fuchs on Leone Jei, with the fastest second-round time of 47.02. Kent Farrington (USA) rode Toulayna into second place (48.05), with the podium being completed by Ben Maher (GBR) on Point Break (48.59).

“This is really my favourite competition. I’ve never won it before, so I told myself I’d put my best horse out there and do my best to win it,” said Fuchs after his victory. Fuchs groom is Irishman Sean Vard, who also got to stand on the podium.

Noteworthy

Although Irish riders did not participate in the Top 10 competition, they certainly made their presence felt elsewhere in the show. Of particular note, was the performance of Francis Derwin in the Under 25 classes.

Friday 13th proved lucky for 20-year-old Derwin and the nine-year-old mare Parvati AEG, as they won the Under 25 1.45m class from a start list of 30. There were 12 clear rounds, with Derwin the fastest of these, riding an accurate round in a super time of 62.09 seconds. They were more than a second faster than runner-up Mel Thijssen (NED) on Juice, who stopped the clock in 63.45. Third place went to Leona Mermillod Baron (FRA) with First To Cash Out (64.16).

Francis Derwin on Parvati AEG won the Under 25 1.45m Speed class at CHI Geneva on Friday / Tomas Holcbecher

International classes began last Thursday, where there were two top 10 finishes for Irish riders in the opening five-star 1.40m class, with Tipperary’s Denis Lynch on King Blue placing fifth and Kilkenny’s Seamus Hughes Kennedy on Castlefield Hera (ISH) close behind in seventh.

Cian O’Connor got off the mark in the 1.45m two-phase class riding Funky Fred Marienshof Z, when they were sixth of 47 starters.

The Under 25 1.40m class saw Derwin on Parvati AEG (61.57) finishing joint sixth from a start list of 32. There was another Irish connection, as the Greg Broderick-bred BP Pocahontas (ISH) won the class under Great Britain’s Oliver Fletcher, when they jumped clear and stopped the clock in 58.93.

In the concluding class of the day, the 1.60m, Lynch and Vistogrand finished in 10th place.

Friday’s 1.55m Speed class saw Hughes Kennedy on ESI Rocky (ISH), bred by Ennisnag Stud, ride a super round to finish sixth, followed by Lynch on Brooklyn Heights in seventh. The win went to Germany’s Christian Kukuk with Chageorge.

Irish-bred

The 11-year-old gelding BP Pocahontas (ISH) and Fletcher (GBR) took third place in the Under 25 Grand Prix on Saturday morning. The pair jumped a fast double clear and finished in a time of 31.40. Belgian winner Jules Van Hoydonck with Minte Vd Bisschop stopped the clock in 31.14, while runner-up Camilla Bosio (ITA) on Kindesth finished in 31.19. It was a close finish, as the top three finished within 0.3 seconds of each other.

Saturday’s 1.60m class saw Offaly’s Darragh Kenny on Eddy Blue take a podium position when finishing third with a jump-off time of 31.49. Kenny finished behind Swiss winner Steve Guerdat on Venard de Cerisy (29.60) and runner-up Lorenzo De Luca (ITA) on Curcuma II Palazzetto (31.39). Hughes Kennedy and ESI Rocky (ISH) placed fifth.

Kenny secured another top 10 finish that evening, when sixth in the 1.55m class on board Chic Chic.

The show concluded with the lucrative 1.60m Rolex Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon, part of the Rolex Grand Slam of show jumping, which saw a very high-class list of starters. The win and the top prize of €400,000 went to Harrie Smolders (NED) riding Monaco.