TORONTO, Canada--Ireland’s Daniel Coyle had a resounding victory in a three horse jump-off in the $250,000 Jumping World Cup on Saturday night, Nov. 12, in front of a sold-out crowd to close out the Royal Horse Show, held as part of the 100th anniversary of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto.
Daniel Coyle on Legacy (Photo by Sarah Miller)Canadian course designer Michel Vaillancourt set a challenging track that had rails falling all around the course.
Two-time Canadian Olympian Tiffany Foster deligted the home crowd with a clear round on Northern Light, and six rounds later, Coyle made it a jump-off by producing the second clean round on Legacy.
As the penultimate rider, Israel’s Daniel Bluman made it a three-horse race when he rode Gemma W to the final clear first-round.
Foster was the first to return in the jump-off, and she had eight faults and exceeded the time allowed of 44-seconds for an additional time fault.
Next to go, Coyle on Legacy threw down the gauntlet, stopping the clock with a clear round in 37.02 seconds, and then when Bluman had a rail down, leaving him in the runner-up spot, Coyle, with the only clear round, was the winner..
“FOR SURE, it was not a simple course, and later on in the course was where the course designer was trying to test us the most,” said Coyle, 28, who competed for Ireland at this year’s World Championships in Herning, Denmark. “In the jump-off, Legacy can be very fast but I haven’t done that many where I’ve been really asking her to go as fast as possible. I saw the distance early to the last fence and that gallop is something that I haven’t done much with her, but she went all the way."
Coyle was also the Leading International Rider and Legacy, owned by Canada’s Ariel Grange, was the Leading Canadian Owned Horse. I
t was a triumphant finale for Coyle, who was just on the cusp of a top finish all week.
“The Royal is an extremely great show for a lot of reasons,” said Coyle. “It’s Ariel’s hometown, she’s from Toronto, and that’s where the home farm is, so it’s a really special show for that reason. That’s maybe why I was trying too hard to have a good result this week and nothing was happening, but thankfully tonight it was good.”
Bluman has been riding a hot streak with a second-place finish in the World Cup class at Washington at the end of October followed by a win in the World Cup at the National one week before The Royal.
With a second-place performance in Toronto, he moved into the lead in the North American League standings as riders earn points toward qualification for the 2023 Jumping World Cup Final taking place in Omaha, Neb., next April.
“When you only have three riders for the jump-off course, things are a little complicated and you want to have some sort of strategy,” said Bluman, 32. “My plan was simple; I had to take risks."
“Gemma is a special horse for me and for the whole team,” he said. “She’s been very consistent and she’s a great warrior inside of the ring.”
Foster was the Leading Canadian Rider after her results throughout this year’s Royal Horse Show.
“This show is something that all Canadian riders are so proud of,” said Foster, 38, who made her Royal Horse Show debut in 2001 when she won both the Jump Canada Medal and the Running Fox CET Medal national finals. “A huge part of that is the organization and everything that goes into making this such a special event. The most important thing, though, is the crowd and the energy that they give. I can’t help but smile. I love it and I’m so proud that they all come out.”
“We are very, very excited about what happened here all week, celebrating a century of bringing champions to Toronto," said Charlie Johnstone, CEO of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. 'For 100 years, The Royal has really been about bringing the country to the city and being best in class. Clearly what we saw tonight was best in class, and that is what we have stood for for the past century and what we will continue to stand for in the next century.”
