Kurten rises to world number two

Equestrian News: Jessica Kürten has moved up to number two in the world rider rankings, following a succession of seven international wins, including victory in the world's richest Grand Prix in Dubai in the middle of last month.

The 36-year-old, who was ranked fifth last month, is now just 482 points adrift of the top spot, which is still occupied by Germany's Marcus Ehning.

Brazilian Rodrigo Pessoa, who claimed the Olympic gold medal forfeited by Cian O'Connor after Athens, has dropped from second to third, relegated by just three points.

"I'm really thrilled, but it's scary too," Kürten told The Irish Times from her German base yesterday.

"I never thought I'd be number 10 in the world, I never thought I'd be number five and now I'm number two and the best woman in the world. But it's all too mad, I just want to keep my feet on the ground and get on with it."

There Kürten wasn't celebrating with champagne and Red Bull, as she had when she first broke into the world top 10 last year.

"The girls in the yard threw whiskey and coke over me this afternoon," Kürten said yesterday.

Kürten's consistent move up the rankings, which started with a break into the top 10 at number six in October of last year, saw the Co Antrim-born rider in fifth at the start of 2006.

But back-to-back victories in the Dubai Grand Prix - for a $250,000 return - and the Dubai Masters were followed by a hat-trick in Leipzig and a double in Zurich last weekend.

Those results boosted Kürten's points tally to 3,095, allowing her to overtake Rodrigo Pessoa, Ludger Beerbaum and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum. The latter was previously the highest-placed woman in the world rankings.

The only other Irish riders in the world top 100 are Billy Twomey, up one slot from 70th to 69th, and Trevor Coyle, up one from 87th to 86th.

Kürten leaves for the big World Cup fixture in Bordeaux today, where she rides Quibell, Castle Forbes Ivy and Laurus.

Currently in a share of 18th in the western European league of the World Cup rankings, Kürten is hoping for another good placing this weekend to boost her points in a bid to qualify for the World Cup final in Kuala Lumpur in April.

But plans to go to Florida have now been cancelled. "It's just too much for the horses", she said. "You can just push too far. I don't want to jump the legs off them."

After two shows with her string of young horses at Neumunster in Germany and Hasselt in Belgium, Kürten is taking a rare two weeks off. But it won't be a fortnight's holiday. She'll be travelling to the Spanish Sunshine Tour to watch her students in action.

The break from the saddle will also give Kürten's injured shoulder a chance to heal. Torn ligaments from a fall off a young horse the week after finishing second in the Olympia Grand Prix in London just before Christmas kept Kürten sidelined, but intensive physiotherapy and pain-killing injections allowed her to get back in the plate just in time to compete in Dubai, where she took the lion's share of the $1.25 million prizefund.