Maher in top three

Top-ranked British showjumper Ben Maher made a strong start to his Rolex FEI World Cup campaign by taking third place in the latest leg at Lyon in France.

Maher, riding Wonderboy III, collected 30,000 Euros following a thrilling jump-off when the top three riders were separated by only 0.55 seconds.

Switzerland's Beat Mandli and Louis won the event in a time of 39.31secs, landing a 60,000 Euros top prize, with the experienced Dutch combination of Albert Zoer and Oki Doki second.

Swiss rider Daniel Etter had won the first two World Cup competitions in Oslo and Helsinki and the series now moves on to Verona next weekend.

The British leg is at London's Olympia on December 20, with the World Cup final taking place in Geneva next April.