Horse Sport Ireland Nominates Twomey and Lynch for Olympic Show Jumping Slots

Horse Sport Ireland has nominated Billy Twomey and Denis Lynch to the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) to represent Ireland in show jumping at the Olympics in London.

The riders were selected by show jumping Team Manager Robert Splaine and following the expiry of the deadline for lodging HSI selection appeals, the names of the two riders have now been forwarded to the OCI.

Twomey was selected with Edwin and Sue Davies's mare Tinka's Serenade, while Lynch will ride Thomas Straumann's gelding Abbervail van het Dingeshof.

Ireland did not qualify a show jumping team for London but two individual slots were secured by Twomey and Lynch from the Olympic rider rankings.

However, under IOC (International Olympic Committee) rules these places are allocated to Ireland and any qualified Irish rider could be selected to fill the place. However, after strong performances recently, Twomey and Lynch are now to be nominated to the OCI to fill the places.

Horse Sport Ireland CEO Damian McDonald said that while it was important to have success at the games it was vital that there were no infringements of anti doping or medication regulations at the event.

"Since 2008 a number of measures have been put in place to address what happened at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic games. Since 2008 over 300 horses ridden by Irish riders have been tested during international competitions by the FEI and all have tested negative which is as it should be," he said.

"However, we cannot be complacent. We have been working closely with the OCI to put the right protocols in place in the lead up to the games. The OCI /HSI monitoring group met with the riders in Dublin airport yesterday to ensure all possible further safeguards are put in place.

"The riders have gone out of their way to work with us on these issues and I know they are determined to ensure that Ireland and Irish show jumping is represented with distinction at the 2012 Olympic games in London,' he said.

Irish equestrian sport will also be represented by five eventing riders, one dressage rider and one Modern Pentathlete at the Olympic Games, along with four riders in the Paralympics.