OCALA, Fla.---World ranked number 11 Daniel Coyle of Ireland on Farrel won the $200,000 Grand Prix CSI4* on a very chilly Saturday evening, Jan. 31 at the World Equestrian Center.
Daniel Coyle on Farrel (Photo by Andrew Ryback)Thirty athletes representing 15 countries competed over the course set by Leopoldo Palacios of Venezuela assisted by Peter Grant of Canada, with nine going clean to advance to the jump-off.
Coyle finished clean in 39.24 to win, with Jessica Mendoza of Great Britain on In The Air placing second n 39.70 and Nina Mallevaey of France on Nikka vd Bisschop third in 40.11.
“This year I’ve been very fast but have had a fence down," said Coyle. "I could be two or three seconds faster, but with a fence down. So I decided to go a little slower and be second or third. So I went in with that in mind, but that also doesn’t always work, sometimes we kinda just go.”
“The jump-off was quite straightforward,” Coyle said. “One to two, there were no real numbers. Then the double. When I walked, it was five strides across the center, and I didn’t think I was going to do that, but we did it, and that’s where I got an extra half a second on everybody, and he’s very good at turning no matter what the speed is.”
“WE'VE HAD Farrel since he just turned 7," said Coyle. "He’s been amazing. He’s my most successful horse ever on paper, which a lot of people don’t know. In the last 10 years of my career, he’s won the most. From ranking classes to National Grands Prix, Nations Cups, he’s been my most successful horse ever. Everybody’s getting a bit older, including him, and I really wanted to win tonight, just for Farrel.”
Ocala has been Coyle's winter base alongside Ariel Grange’s Lothlorien Farm over the past two years.
“This place just has everything,” he said. “All the top riders are starting to come here more, and it’s great for young horses. Unless you come here, you wouldn’t understand it. This is like a second home to me now. I just love it.”
Mendoza came closest to matching Coyle’s time
“In The Air is a special lady, and she has her own way of doing i," said Mendoza. "She has the biggest heart for her size. I am very lucky to have her.”
