Irish showjumper Daniel Coyle has been no stranger to the international showjumping news headlines in recent months and he racked up a tremendous St Patrick’s Day victory at the Live Oak International in USA at only his third show with the aptly named gelding Incredible.
Read on for this week’s round-up of some of the big showjumping news stories from around the world, and results.
“I’ve had a really, really good experience with the World Cup already, but I think this is the first year I’ve ever won three in one season,” said Daniel, who has been dividing his time between the USA and Europe this winter.
He only began riding 11-year-old Incredible (Clinton x Heartbreaker), previously with Dutch rider Eric Ten Cate, in January after his mentor Jeroen Dubbeldam scouted the gelding for Daniel.
“Every time I go in the ring, I’m finding something new in Incredible,” he said. “It’s great that I can find that out while competing at the top of the sport. He was incredible before I got him and it’s good to know that I was a good rider before, he was a good horse before, and today I can say that we are also very good together.
“Incredible had already done some Nations Cups and some really good things, but his rider didn’t get the chance to go to the big shows every week. Jeroen said, ‘We should try him.’ Immediately we saw that he would fit with us, and he could really help Legacy. He has done that and more. I have somebody like Ariel Grange who can step up and buy the horses and somebody like Jeroen as a mentor who can actually find the horses for me.”
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Mclain Ward and Contagious win the CSI4* grand prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival.
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A winning double for Ward
US Olympic team gold medallist Mclain Ward secured two big wins at the Winter Equestrian Festival, topping the $215,000 Horseware Ireland CSI4* grand prix with Contagious and the Adequan WEF Challenge Cup riding First Lady.
“Contagious is getting older now [15] and it’s a little more work but he has a huge heart,” said Mclain. “He’s had a bit of four-faultitis here in Florida – two great grands prix with one down – but I felt that he’d jump well tonight. It was a very hot night and a quick turnaround for us. I only jumped three jumps in the schooling area because I didn’t want to let him bottom out. He dug in deep and we were lucky to go last.”
Belgium’s Nicola Phillippaerts and Derby De Riverland was the US rider’s closest challenger, with Harry Charles best of the Brits in fifth on Aralyn Blue.
Philip McGuane and the Evergate Stables’ My Lady Van De Krekel win the seven-year-old title.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
Showjumping news: young horse titles go to Ireland
Ireland performed a clean sweep of the 2024 young horse finals at WEF, Florida. Philip McGuane and the Evergate Stables’ My Lady Van De Krekel (Aganix du Seigneur x Numero Uno), bred in the Netherlands, won the seven-year-old championship, having been bought at the SLF Horse Auction in Belgium last summer.
“She’s super careful, not very big but she has a lot of qualities,” said Philip. “Harrie Smolders tried her and really liked her so we only saw the videos and ended up buying her. She came over to us in August last year.”
A winning double for Mark Edwards
And finally in this week’s showjumping news round-up, among a string of British wins on the various tours, Mark Edwards celebrated a world ranking class victory double on the La Caccia Garda Tour in Italy, with Flying Tinker II and Tinkers Tale, while Royale Tale also collected the red ribbons.
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Jennifer is passionate at showjumping and her role as H&H’s showjumping editor has taken her around the world reporting from shows and interviewing riders, connections and those involved behind the scenes. Since joining H&H from BBC Sport in 2005, she has written on every subject across the equestrian sphere — from turnout rugs to stable management — and has interviewed gold medallists, world champions and winners galore. She also has first-hand experience of working in the equestrian industry as a riding instructor and yard manager.
