2010
Towards the end of April, Lynch was selected as part of Ireland's Nations Cup Team in Lummen, Belgium. He was selected as first to jump (with Abberuail van het Dingeshof) followed by Alex Duffy (Tampa), Shane Breen (Carmena Z), and Billy Twomey (Tinka's Serenade). In the first round they all jumped clear apart from Alex Duffy, who had 22 faults. As Duffy had the discarded score, he did not jump in the second round. The remaining trio then produced 3 more clear rounds to tie for first place with Australia on zero penalties. The jump-off saw Chris Chugg of Australia go head-to-head with Billy Twomey. With Chugg having four faults and Twomey jumping his third clear round of the competition, Ireland won. Lynch also achieved good placings on his new ride – Lacroix 9. He directed the 15 year old gelding to 3rd place in the CSI2* Grand Prix, and 2nd in a CSI2* Table A class.
The opening leg of the Global Champions Tour in Valencia: Although many of the worlds best riders – including Lynch – had faults in the €285,000 Grand Prix on Saturday, he was narrowly beaten into second in the 1m50 'Trophy Massimo Dutti'. The class was won by fellow Irish rider – Jessica Kuerten – just 0.32 seconds in front.
At the Global Champions Tour in Hamburg, Lynch (with Nabab's Son) won the 'Mercedes-Benz Championat of Hamburg' – the 1m55 qualification class for the Global Champions Tour of Germany Grand Prix.
Lynch took the top spot in the Grand Prix qualifier at the CSI4* Weisbaden, Germany, with Abberuail van het Dingeshof. He had been competing at the Global Champions Tour of Italy on the Saturday and travelled 600 km to win the class (and €7,500) in Weisbaden on the Sunday. Lynch then made his long trip very worthwhile by also taking the winners purse of €23,000 in the Grand Prix, again with Abberuail van het Dingeshof. He beat the recently crowned World Cup Champion (Marcus Ehning on Noltes Kuchengirl) into second place by just 0.08 of a second.
Lynch then travelled to the CSI3* Norten-Hardenberg, Germany. He and Lacroix won the 1m50 'Championat von Nörten-Hardenberg', Lynch also finished 5th on Nabab's Son in the 1m50 'Gothaer Trophy'.
He continued to chase the DKB Riders Tour shows, as he travelled to the CSI4* Balve. It was another worthwhile trip for Lynch as he finished second in the Grand Prix on his Olympic ride – Lantinus – putting him 18 points ahead of second place in the DKB Riders Tour standings at the half-way mark of the tour. Lynch also enjoyed the Medium Tour of the show, finishing 3rd in both the Grand Prix qualifier, and the Grand Prix with Abberuail van het Dingeshof
The fourth leg of the Global Champions Tour in Cannes, France was next for Lynch. On day 3, he was 0.09 seconds off the pace in the Table A 1m50 class with Lacroix.
For the final weekend of June, Lynch travelled to the CSI5* Global Champions Tour of Monte Carlo. He got off to a good start with Lacroix by taking top-spot in Thursdays 1m45 speed class, and bagging €6,400 in prize money. Lacroix continued his great form by finishing 8th in the Grand Prix with just four faults over the two rounds.
The sixth leg of the Global champions Tour was next for Lynch – the CSI5* Estoril, Portugal. On the opening evening, he jumped a double clear on Abberuail van het Dingeshof to secure 5th place and €1,750 in the 1m45 jump-off class – The 'Trophy Massimo Dutti'. He again chose to ride Abberuail van het Dingeshof in Saturday's GCT Grand Prix but were unlucky to have the final fence down in the first round.
Lynch travelled as part of the Irish squad to the CSIO5* Falsterbo, Sweden. In the opening competition – a 7 year old class – he steered All Star 5 to 4th place. In the 5th leg of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup, which was won by the home team, Ireland finished 5th on 24 faults: Dermott Lennon (Hallmark Elite) 4/12, Jessica Kuerten (Castle Forbes Myrtille Paulois) (8)/(12), Shane Breen (Carmena Z) 4/4, Denis Lynch (Nabab's Son) 0/0. He then went on to win the 'Six-Bar' competition on Saturday evening with the 7-y-o All Star 5.
Next for Lynch was the World Equestrian Festival at the CSIO5* Aachen, Germany as part of the Irish team. On Day 2, he directed All Inclusive NRW to 3rd place in a jump-off class with a double clear to earn €3,000. In the 6th leg of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup on Thursday, the Irish team finished on a 4 fault score to win: Billy Twomey ( Tinka's Serenade) 4/0; Dermott Lennon (Hallmark Elite) 0/0; Cian O'Connor (K Club Lady) 0/0; Denis Lynch (Lantinus) (4)/(NS). On Sunday – although he failed to recapture the Grand Prix crown – he steered All Inclusive NRW to 4th place in the one round class.
In between Meydan Nations Cup duty, Lynch travelled to the 7th leg of the Global Champions Tour at Chantilly, France. On Saturday, he and All Inclusive NRW finished 3rd in the 1m50 Table C class to take €2,250.
Lynch was once again selected as part of the Irish Team – this time at the Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead, Great Britain. Although he did not have the most successful week, he helped the Irish Team secure their future in the Meydan FEI Nations Cup for another year by earning 3 points by finishing 6th in the Nations Cup on Friday, which was won by the host nation; Shane Breen (Carmena Z) 12/9; Dermott Lennon (Hallmark Elite) 9/(EL); Billy Twomey (Je t'Aime Flamenco) 5/1; Denis Lynch (Nabab's Son) 12/0.
The final leg of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup Series at the 'Failte Ireland' RDS Dublin Horse Show, Ireland, was next for Lynch. In the Nations Cup on Friday, Ireland finished joint 2nd on 20 faults with the USA: Billy Twomey (Tinka's Serenade) 0/4; Dermott Lennon (Hallmark Elite) (12)/(8); Cian O'Connor (K Club Lady) 8/0; Denis Lynch (Nabab's Son) 8/0. This result secured Ireland 4th place in the overall standings. On Saturday, he and Upsilon D'Ocquier finished 3rd in the Accumulator and bagged over €2,000. A double clear in the Longines Grand Prix on Sunday, earned Lynch and Nabab's Son 6th place and €11,500.
It seamed to 'all come together' for Lynch at the penultimate leg of the Global Champions Tour held at Stal Tops, Valkensward, The Netherlands where he picked up nearly €70,000 in prize-money. On Saturday morning, he earned 3rd place (and €2,400) in the 1m45 one-round class with All Inclusive NRW. In the Global Champions Tour 'VDL Groep' Grand Prix of that evening, Lynch and Lantinus finished 2nd of 49 starters. He picked up €57,000 and climbed to 25th in the overall GCT ranking. On Sunday, he collected a further €1,400 by directing Tarpan to 2nd place in a CSI2* 1m40 jump-off class. Lynch's good fortune continued as he won the final of the CSI5* Medium Tour (a 1m50 jump-off class) with All Inclusive NRW and pocketed another €8,000.
At the final leg of the Global Champions Tour at the CSI5* Rio de Janeiro, Lynch and All Inclusive NRW finished 2nd in the Grand Prix and collected €70,000, being beaten by the 2010 World Cup Champion – Marcus Ehning (on Noltes Kuchengirl) by just 0.27 of a second. This result also brought him into the top 18 on the GCT standings where a €1,000,000 bonus was offered – Lynch earned €7,500 of the impressive bonus. During the show, he also partnered Lacroix 9 to 3rd in the Accumulator Class, and 5th in a 1m45 speed class, collecting €4,400 between them.
CSI4* Paderborn, Germany – the 4th leg of the DKB Riders Tour: In the Grand Prix qualifier on Saturday, Lynch and Abberuail van het Dingeshof pulled off the fastest time in the jump-off but had 4 faults to finish 9th. On Friday evening, he and Lacroix stopped the clock 0.37 of a second quicker than Pilipp Weishaupt to win the 1m50 speed class (and €5,000). The pair also took the honours in the 1m45 2-phase class on Sunday, picking up another €5,000.
Denis then traveled to Kentucky as part of the Irish Team to the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, Jumping World Championships: (Dermott Lennon – Hallmark Elite; Denis Lynch – Lantinus; Cian O’Connor – K Club Lady; Billy Twomey – Tinka’s Serenade. After the opening competition – a Speed Class – Lynch lay in 65th on 7.42 faults, and the Team lay in 8th – less than 8 faults of Gold. Day 2 saw the Nations Cup competition. After the first round, Lynch dropped down to 85th after having an uncharacteristic 12 faults, and the Team had dropped to 12th – missing the cut to jump in the second round and fight for Olympic qualification.
Lynch then travelled to the CSI3* 'Baltic Horse Show' in Keil, Germany. In the 1m50 Grand Prix qualifier on Friday, he and Abberuail van het Dingeshof finished 8th with 4 faults in the jump-off. On Saturday night, he was first to go in the jump-off of the 1m50 'Cellagon' Championship of Keil, again with Abberuail van het Dingeshof. This time the pair posted a double clear to finish 4th – less than half a second behind the winner – to collect €1,200.
CSI5*-W Equita' Lyon, France: In the opening class – a 1m45 two-phase class – Lynch steered Abberuail van het Dingeshof to 4th place to earn €2,000. On Saturday, with the same horse, he finished 5th in a 1m55 jump-off class to collect a further €3,000. Then in the 'Equita Masters' that evening, Lynch posted the fastest jump-off time with Lantinus, but with 4 faults to finish 8th and earn €4,000. The money kept amounting for Denis when he and Nabab's Son earned another €2,400 when the pair finished 4th in the 1m50 one-round class on Sunday morning. In the Rolex FEI World Cup qualifier, Lynch opted to ride Abberuail van het Dingeshof, the pair again posted a very quick time, but with 8 faults they could only secure 8th position and €7,000 of the €200,000 prize fund.
CSI4* Munich Indoors, Munich, Germany – the Final leg of the DKB Riders Tour: In the Grand Prix, Lynch and Abberuail van het Dingeshof finished 3rd (to earn €12,000) – enough to secure the highly coveted title: Rider of the Year – and a €50,000 VW Touareg.
CSI2* Oldenburg, Germany: In the Grand Prix, Lynch and Upsilon d'Ocquier finished 9th. The pair had 4 faults in the first round, but posted the fastest time to finish top of the faulters.
CSI5*-W Stuttgart German Masters: Lynch qualified as one of 12 for the 'Mercedes' German Masters. He took an early lead with Abberuail van het Dingeshof but eventually finished 4th (€8,000). The competition was won by the triple World Cup Champion pair of Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Shutterfly. In the six-bar on Saturday night, he and Tarpan finished 2nd to earn over €3,500.
CSI5*-W Audi Masters Brussels, Belgium: In the opening class on Friday night, Lynch and Abberuail van het Dingeshof were quick enough to take 4th prize of €4,000.
CSI5* Gucci Masters, Paris, France: Lynch and Upsilon d'Ocquier took 8th place and €1,200 in the Rolex Speed Challenge on the opening night.
CSI5*-W Geneva, Switzerland: In the 'Rolex' Top Ten final on Friday night, Lynch and Lantinus finished 2nd to take CHF 50,000. He also partnered Tarpan to finish joint-3rd in the 'Mont Blanc' Six-Bar on Thursday night to earn CHF 1,670. The pair also took 4th prize of €1,400 in the Accumulator on Saturday.
CSI4* Frankfurt, Germany: The Grand Prix took place on Sunday afternoon, and in this, Lynch and Lantinus Jumped double-clear to take 2nd prize of €25,000. In the 1m45 winning round on Saturday night, he directed Tarpan to 6th prize of €1,200
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