THERE were three Irish in the top six of the Longines Global Champions Tour in Riesenbeck, Germany, last Sunday night when, at the end of a thrilling class on the magnificent grass arena, Harrie Smolders took victory with Uricas v.d.Kattevennen.

Smolders made history as the third ever person to secure a third consecutive LGCT Grand Prix podium, with Austria’s Max Kühner aboard Elektric Blue P earning the golden ticket to the Longines Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix, closely followed by home favourite Daniel Deusser and Killer Queen VDM in third place.

Eight made it through to the jump-off, including Ireland’s Michael Duffy, Trevor Breen and Eoin McMahon who is based at Ludger Beerbaum’s Riesenbeck venue and was in a race to get fit after an arm injury.

First to go in the dramatic jump-off, Championship contender Abdel Said of Belgium was back in the game with Bonne Amie after an impeccable first round. It wasn’t their day as he took too much risk at the roll back, knocking it down and adding four faults to his score.

Having finished third in an LGCT Grand Prix three times in his career, Galway’s Michael Duffy and Cinca 3 covered the ground but lost a bit of time in the turns as they kept all the fences up in 48.86 seconds which ultimately secured them top five.

Jumping his first LGCT Grand Prix clear of the season Daniel Deusser entered the arena to a round of applause from the home crowd. Killer Queen VDM flew across the huge grass arena taking strides out in all distances. The German duo crossed the finish in 46.60, setting the pace for the rest of the field.

An early fence down for Germany’s Gerrit Nieberg and Ben meant they were out of contention. Challenging the time of Deusser, Co Clare’s Eoin McMahon had all the pressure on his shoulders riding at his home event with Ludger Beerbaum’s two-time LGCT Grand Prix winner Mila whom Beerbaum rode on his very last start in the arena at Aachen earlier in the month.

As the third last fence came tumbling down the whole arena sighed as he finished faster than Desusser but with four faults on the board.

Playing a tactical game on his home-bred Highland President, Trevor Breen was smooth and efficient but didn’t take too much risk to secure a double clear and slotted in just ahead of fellow Irishman Duffy in 48.56, picking up his highest ever finish in an LGCT Grand Prix.

Harrie Smolders and Uricas v.d.Kattevennen were lightning fast in the jump-off. Making the roll back mid-course look easy, the pair aced it from start to finish cutting over a second off the time to stop the clock in 45.56 seconds with just one left to go.

Max Kuhner was last to go with Elektric Blue P and, risking it all to the last, he looked up at the clock through the finish line with the whole crowd thinking he had done it, but a fraction too slow he secured second place to give the win to Smolders.

After stage 11 of the LGCT Championship race Maikel van der Vleuten still leads, staying on 231 points. Christian Kukuk moves up to 205 points while Harrie Smolders leapfrogs up to third place on 194 points after collecting maximum points. The Championship race now heads to Royal Hospital in Chelsea, London, from August 10th to 13th, clashing with the Dublin Horse Show.

Wachman placed

Fresh from winning team gold and individual silver at the FEI Junior European Championships, 18-year-old Tom Wachman collected two third-place finishes at just his second ever five-star show.

On the opening day, he was third in the 1.45m two-phase with Coolmore Showjumping’s 10-year-old gelding Rock of Cashel (0/0 39.30), just ahead of his older brother Max who slotted into fourth with the Ita Brennan-bred Irish Sport Horse Kilkenny (VDL Cardento x Guidam). Germany’s Johanna Beckmann claimed victory aboard IB Ecstasy.

Tom’s other third place came in Friday’s two-star 1.40m when he guided I’m Here to a clear in 55.86 seconds. In second place was his trainer Cian O’Connor riding the eight-year-old Fancy de Kergane, owned by Coolmore Showjumping, when clear in 54.97 behind German winner Richard Vogel with Joebon Blue (0/ 54.80).

Denis Lynch was the runner-up in Sunday’s 1.50m Table A. Riding the 10-year-old gelding Hunter, owned by Parco Sport Horses EST, he was just fractions of a second slower than German winner Hans-Dieter Dreher.