Riding the 10 year-old gelding ‘Lantinus’, the Tipperary rider left all the poles standing, and ran slightly over the allowed time for the course.
Afterwards irish Team manager Robert Splaine said: “It’s a game of tactics at this stage. Denis, I think, knew well he would incur a time fault, but the horse has to be saved for the next two rounds of jumping on Sunday and Monday, when the competition will become seriously difficult.”
Lynch finished in joint 14th position in the first qualifier, but the faults incurred today are the vital element, for they are converted into points to be carried forward to the next qualifier on Sunday. Thirteen riders shared first place on a zero score, and 14 riders shared 14th place. A total of 77 riders took part.
The final of the individual jumping competition will be held on Thursday August 21st, when the top 35 riders left in the competition will be whittled down to a top 20 who will do battle for medal positions in the ultimate round.
