IN the official Longines World Show Jumping Rankings, covering competitions during the month of March, Ireland has increased its presence with nine riders now in the top 100, with Co. Down’s Conor Swail (pictured), highest at No.28.

Below Swail, Tipperary's Denis Lynch remains in 31st place, with fellow Tipp rider Shane Breen at 35th.

Mayo’s Cameron Hanley has increased his points to move up two places to No. 51, while Olympic Bronze Medallist Cian O'Connor shares 60th place with Wexford teenager Bertram Allen, who has improved by an encouraging seven places in the table since last month. 

Cork's Shane Sweetnam drops to 72nd place overall while fellow Munster man Billy Twomey continues his return to form by jumping two places to 85th since the last published ranking.

 

Kilkenny's Richie Moloney, who finished second in the 500,000 dollar Grand Prix in Florida, now appears in the top 100 in 92nd place.

 

Meanwhile, Co. Down's Dermott Lennon hovers just outside the top rank at 105th, a remarkable improvement of 27 places since last month.

The Longines World Show Jumping rankings measure the performances of over 2,000 international riders each month, and the current leader is Britain's Scott Brash, with fellow-Briton Ben Maher in second place. 

The rankings are published by the world governing body for the sport, the FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale) in Lausanne, Switzerland.