October 28, 2022 
Irishman Daniel Coyle has had the ride on 12-year-old mare Legacy for four-years, and in that time she’s become his most reliable championship partner.
Yet she isn’t just some yes mare. Jumping to the top of classes like Saturday’s CSI5*-W $75,000 Welcome Stake at the Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) is the result of Legacy’s own winning attitude, and not just Coyle’s persuasions. As Coyle can attest, Legacy is not a horse who likes to be bossed around, in or out of the stable.
“She’s very opinionated…My groom, Greg, gets on great with her. Sometimes he’ll leave food sitting where he’s tacking her up, and she’ll take it. She kind of gets away with everything because she wins a lot and she’s a fantastic horse, and nobody ever wants to tell her anything,” confessed Coyle.
Whether it takes a stolen lunch, or a conversation instead of a command, keeping her in good spirits throughout the day has proven to be a system that works well for the entire team, because once the pair crosses the start timers they always have the same goal.
“It’s great because I only need her for an hour a day, so whatever she does in her own time, that’s up to her,” said Coyle.
“She’s funny because she’s always trying so hard. At a new place sometimes you’re not sure how much effort she’s going to put in. Her main thing is she doesn’t want to knock the jumps down.”
They finished the Bernardo Cabral’s (POR) jump-off track in 27.42 seconds, catching an over two-second lead, which the other eight combinations were unable to match. Hunter Holloway (USA) came the closest with 11-year-old mare Peptia Con Spita (30.32), her partner for the 2022 FEI World Cup Finals in Leipzig, Germany. Completing the podium was Katie Dinan (USA) and 12-year-old mare Atika Des Hauts Vents with 30.80 seconds.
WIHS week means indoor season is now in full swing, and as the arenas get shorter, so do the jump-offs. There are fewer opportunities to trim the time, making it all the more vital to take chances whenever possible.
“Actually, the jump-off was only six fences, and an indoor arena is usually quite short. I would say probably the turn back to the double combination and the second to last fence is where it came up good for me,” said Coyle.
“The first class is usually a smaller class, which makes it a little easier for everybody to get introduced to the ring and the crowd, obviously. Sometimes it can be daunting going straight into a big class like that, but it worked out for me tonight.”
Luckily, Coyle knows he can always rely on Legacy to have the same ambitious hunger on course, and so it works out for him quite often. The mare has a 40% clear round rate at 1.55m, the height of Saturday’s Welcome.
“She’s been incredible to me. She knows the ropes now, and we’ve sort of gelled together over the last four-years, and hopefully we continue to. She’s funny because she’s always trying so hard,” said Coyle.
A bronze medal at the ECCO FEI World Championships this year in Herning, Denmark is certainly proof of that. Earlier this summer, they secured another bronze for the Irish team at the CSIO5*-NC in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and a gold in the CSIO5*-NC at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, BC. It’s a distinguished list of successes already, what they’ll add to it is yet to be seen.
