Van der Vleuten wins jump-off for Olympia crown

ERIC van der Vleuten came through an 11-rider jump off to strike gold in the Rolex FEI World Cup qualifier at the Olympia Horse Show on Sunday.

OLYMPIA CHAMPION: Dutch show jumper Eric van der Vleuten secures World Cup qualifier win at Olympia Horse Show

Ireland's Cian O'Connor was the nearest challenger but finished 0.58 seconds back as van der Vleuten clocked a time of 35.08 secs to end a 15-year spell without a Dutch World Cup winner at Olympia.

Britain's Ben Maher and Michael Whitaker were the only Brits to complete clear first rounds but both failed to medal in the jump-off, finishing fourth and seventh respectively as France's Penelope Leprevost stole in for bronze.

But the day was all about van der Vleuten, who collected £24,000 for the win on Groep Tomboy and moved to the top of the Western League standings ahead of April's World Cup final in Geneva.

 "The result has all-but guaranteed my place in the final so I'll be concentrating on that now," said van der Vleuten who succeeded Australian Edwina Alexander as champion in Olympia.

"The horse has been in great shape all week so I didn't have too many worries.  It is a fantastic feeling to win here - everyone knows the World Cup at Olympia is a little bit special."