DANIEL Coyle closed the curtain on the young horse classes at the Dublin Horse Show with a seemingly effortless performance to triumph in the LHK Insurance sponsored Seven and Eight-Year-Old Final.
The Canadian-based Irish rider snatched the win at the final moment to secure the majority of the €14,000 purse with Ariel Grange’s Legacy.
A new mount to Coyle this season, the eight-year-old Chippendale Z-sired mare was sourced earlier this season from Jeroen Dubbeldam.
Produced by Belgian rider Annelies Vorsselmanns, Coyle only took up the reins in June but already has won the 1.45m Pandriks Championat of Veeningen at Zuidwolde as well taking the runner-up position in a two-star Grand Prix in Samorin in July.
Coyle had been in the placings both days with Legacy finishing second in Wednesday’s opener in Simmonscourt and third in the main arena on Friday.
Speaking to The Irish Field after Sunday’s win Coyle said: “Dublin is always an amazing show. I head to Millstreet now with another eight-year-old, my Dublin horses are heading back home, and then Spruce Meadows will be the next big outing.”
The older horses proved to be the dominant force in the final with only two of the seven-year-old section coming forward to the clocked round, while eight combinations in the eight-year-old divisions kept a clean sheet on their first outing over the Tom Holden-built course.
Coyle was the final rider in the resulting 10-strong jump-off, and knew exactly what needed to be done to come out in front, with a deceptively fast round achieving just that when the clock showed 38.32 seconds.
The two fastest rounds of the day had come at the end of the class with Britain’s Amanda Derbyshire holding the lead prior to Coyle. Derbyshire had set the time to beat at 38.47 with Celina BH.
Owned by Gochman Sport Horse LLC, the Canstakko-sired eight-year-old mare was another to show consistent form throughout the week. Just outside the top 10 on Wednesday, Derbyshire ensured her place in the final with a victory in Friday’s class.
The rest of the line-up proved to be completely Irish. Philip McGuane made it three years in-a-row to make the top six in this class, finishing in third place on this occasion.
Partnered with Barry O’Connor and Beat Mandli’s eight-year-old Caretino-sired Antigone Gravelotte, McGuane was the only other rider to have a faultless round and stopped the clock in a time of 39.08.
Michael Pender and HHS Calais (Cavalier Royale x O.B.O.S Quality 004) proved the fastest of the four-faulters and also the highest placed of the seven-year-olds. Faulting early in the jump-off at the mafia poles, Pender had logged an exceptionally fast time of 37.86.
Just behind him on the seven-year-old Phin Phin-sired Essenar High Hopes was Jack Ryan. Mirroring the six-year-old divisions Ryan looked set to open the jump-off with a double clear, but unfortunately again had his hopes shattered as the final fence came down. The time of 38.48 would stand for eventual fifth place.
Filling the final position in the line-up was Darragh Kenny and the eight-year-old Billy Dorito (Billy Mexico x Vechta) faulting at the penultimate oxer in a time of 39.23.