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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Ireland's Jordon Coyle wins Upperville's Grand Prix over Alison Robitaille

UPPERVILLE, Va.--Jordon Coyle of Ireland on Ariso won the $213,300 Upperville Jumper Classic CSI4* in a three-horse jump-off with the fastest double-clear effort in front of a packed crowd on Sunday, June 13.

Jordon Coyle on ArisoJordon Coyle on ArisoUpperville’s own Alison Robitaille placed second with Lima 47, while Samuel Parot of Chile and Dubai rounded out the top three.

Thirty-two international riders challenged Brazil’s Marina Azevedo first round track in the Grand Prix Ring, and the field was narrowed down to just three combinations who returned for the jump-off.

A triple bar to a careful plank vertical followed by a line with an oxer and double verticals away from the gate proved difficult enough to separate the field ahead of the final tiebreaker.

Parot was the first rider to return for the jump-off with his own Holsteiner gelding Dubai, going clean in 42.78 seconds.

Thursday’s Welcome Stakes winners Coyle knew he could lay down a faster track by turning inside to a steady vertical and leaving a stride out to the last fence.. and he finished in 39.78 seconds to take over the lead.

 

THE CROWD roared when Robitaille entered the ring with Lima 47, but this was her first grand prix at the CSI4* level on Lima, so a slightly more conservative track with an extra stride in the final line had her finish in 41.17 seconds for second leaving Parot third.

“For me the most difficult part was the double of verticals." said Coyle. "My horse jumps to the left, so those are normally hard for him, but thank god he jumped them today!”

"For the jump-off, my plan is the same as always, which is to go as fast as possible and not knock the jumps down," said Coyle. "This horse has turned a corner in the last six months, I believe. When I got him, he was very difficult to ride and he is getting easier. I won the HITS Million in Ocala on him, that was his last show before here. I am very excited to see what the rest of the summer holds.”

“When I got him the jump was always unbelievable, but after five jumps you have no steering and no control." he said. "Sometimes he would jump the jumps and just get lucky. I feel like today was a technical course, the Million was a technical course and I can ride him a little bit more, so I am going to keep doing what I am doing. But really I don’t know what I am doing, I do not even ride him at home. I just lunge him, but I don’t know, something is working I guess. When I got the horse I spoke to Dermont Lennon who is a world champion and when I got some advice from it was to ‘don’t ever try to ride him because he is not built to ride. Just let him be normal and try to work with him.’ I didn’t take his advice fully at the start and I tried to fix him, but there is no fixing him. I just leave him alone and every day he is getting easier. Who knows, he may run away with me next time


“I agree with Jordan, I think that the double vertical line was the most difficult part of the course." said Robitaille. "I really wanted to be sure that I nailed the oxer coming out of the turn away from the gate so that way I could be a little bit wider and set up the double verticals. Also, the oxer after the double verticals seems like the biggest one on the course. When I walked the course I thought it would be simple and direct in seven, but after the double verticals I ended up staying out in eight strides like the rest of the class.”

“In a way I am grateful for every time that I get to go in the ring on the group of horses that I have," she said. "But, yes, it is special to be here in my home town area – especially for my daughters to be able to come and see me compete. Winning a 4* Grand Prix anywhere is really special. Certainly it would have been even more exciting ‘at home.’ I have been second in this class one other time when it was still out in the grass. One of these years I am going to get lucky and bring home the win. I am thrilled with my horse. Going into the jump off I felt that I needed to do my plan for my horse today. If i was to do it next week, I probably would maybe have tried to leave a stride out here or there. Maybe to the last fence, or maybe to the blue oxer, but we are still learning each other at this level. I like to have real relationships with my horses and ride them every day and have a real connection with them. We all as professionals come to our sport in different ways and I feel as though we are form."

Nicky Galligan of Ireland was fourth on Javas Miss Jordan, the fastest of the four faulters in 72.83, with Alex Matz of Cochranville, Pa. on Cashew R fifth in 74.36, and McLain Ward on HH Azur sixrh in 76.08.

 

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