Kildare dressage pairing scoop third place in FEI World Cup Grand Prix - and wows judges and audience alike with 'Lord of the Dance' performance!

Kildare born Judy Reynolds on Vancouver K, affectionately named as ‘JP, secured third place yesterday in the FEI World Cup Grand Prix at Neumünster in Germany. The Irish dressage star was the early leader with an impressive score of 75.109% with six competitors to follow.

Whilst the top spot went to the World No1 pairing of Isabell Werth (GER) and Weihegold OLD with a final score of 82.565%, fellow German, Helen Langehanenberg, took second place on Damsey FRH (76.413%).

The Irish dressage star was ecstatic after the event, where she beat many of the world’s leading dressage competitors.

“JP, what a horse!” she wrote on social media. “An amazing weekend in Neumünster with a third place finish in the freestyle - our best score yet of 82.7%!”

She continued: “The support this week has been amazing, thank you to everyone especially Paul Nolan, Louise Parkes and Brian Hennessy for all their hard work in getting us into the news! And of course, to our amazing team who prep and preen and get us to the best place possible so we can do our job”

Reynold’s gelding Vancouver K is owned by her parents, Joe and Kathleen Reynolds of Kilteel. RTÉ noted earlier that the result “marks the first time in history that an Irish rider has finished on the podium in an FEI World Cup in Europe, which is considered to be the most competitive league in the world”.

Reynolds star has been rising in recent years, the most recent of which was in Amsterdam where they set a new Irish record score of 80.290% in the FEI World Cup Freestyle To Music Grand Prix.

Her performances in Neumünster’s in the Freestyle To Music Grand Prix delighted both judges and the audience. Only their third time to perform to the modern and identifiably Irish soundtrack, ‘Lord of the Dance’, the bold JP looks increasingly at ease and gaining in confidence with every performance.

Reynolds is pretty much Ireland’s only competitor at this level, and they became the first-ever Irish pairing to take a podium placing in a Western European League Grand Prix.

No doubt, there’ll be a welcome home treats for JP and Judy on their return to Co Kildare!