LONDON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Dutch Olympian Harrie Smolders has secured the number one spot of the Longines world ranking for the first time in his career.
Smolders took the reins from Olympic silver medallist Kent Farrington of the United States who held the position since May 2017.
Smolders, who turns 38 next week, made his Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Games, has been snapping at the heels of Farrington for several months from second position.
Now at the top of this elite list on 3,158 points, he earns further recognition after his incredible year in 2017 which was marked by one dominant performance after another.
Smolders took individual silver with Don VHP Z at the FEI European Championships in Gothenburg, and shortly after clinched victory for his country at the 2017 FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final in Barcelona.
The Dutchman was very delighted and described it as an "early birthday present."
"This is a great moment, not only for me but for all the staff who have helped me achieve this," Smolders said. "I am grateful to Eurohorse, Axel Verlooy and Copernicus LLC who have allowed me to focus purely on the sport for the last 10 months, and the results are there and the success is there."
Smolders was awarded the Rider of the Year in the Netherlands in 2017, another first in his career, as an acknowledgement of his accomplishments in a single season and also made history with his double victory winning both the 2017 Global Champions Tour and the 2017 Global Champions league.
Farrington, 34, who is well on the road to recovery after breaking his right leg in a fall in mid-February now sits in second position on 2913 points, followed closely by Peder Fredricson of Sweden who remains at number three on 2821 points.
