Lynch overtakes Kurten in rankings

Tipperary's Denis Lynch has overtaken Jessica Kurten in the Rolex World Jumping Rankings for the first time.

Ireland still has five riders in the world top 50 in the table published on Thursday which measures the performance of almost 2,000 international show jumpers during the previous month.

Lynch remained in 17th place for January, but 40-year-old Kurten has now dropped three places to 18th in the rankings.

Meath-based Cian O'Connor stays at 31st, Cork's Billy Twomey climbed one place to 40th, and 36-year-old Cameron Hanley showed the biggest improvement, jumping up three places to 47th.

Swiss rider Pius Schwizer is the new leader in the Rolex rankings,
unseating previous No.1 Albert Zoer from the Netherlands.

The rankings, which cover the period up to the end of January 2010, are compiled and issued by the world governing body, the
Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) in Lausanne, Switzerland.