Ireland’s Daniel Coyle was both the winner of The Mustangs CSI5* class at Spruce Meadows on Friday and the rider with the fastest jump off time on the day.
These two things are not related.
Eighteen combinations contested Marina Azebedo’s 1.55m track on day two of the Continental tournament in Calgary, AB. What the field lacked in numbers it made up for in depth. The start list featured 15 championship riders, including seven Olympians and three riders in the world top 20. (Those were no. 6 Conor Swail (IRL), no. 11 Kent Farrington (USA), and no. 19 Daniel Coyle (IRL).)
Nine advanced to the jump off, setting the stage for speed over the expansive North American Ring.
Brazil’s Santiago Lambre posted the first double clear in 50.58 with Chacco Blue II. But it held for a single round when Ireland’s Darragh Kenny and Chic Chic shaved half a second off to stop the clock at 50.20.
Fourth to return on Quintin and with proven speed riders Farrington (USA) and Nayel Nassar (EGY) in the wings, Coyle clocked the fastest time of the day, crossing the timers in 43.52 seconds. But the pair picked up eight faults along the way after catching rails at the b element of the double and the final fence.
The only rider with two horses in the jump off, Coyle was last to return with the ironically dubbed Ivory TCS (the mare is black). The pair made short work of the short course with sharp turn to the double and an inside turn to the penultimate oxer, stopping the clock at 45.06. It was two tenths of second faster than runners up Adrienne Sternlicht (USA) and Faquitol-S and over a second slower than his time on Quintin.
Kent Farrington and Landon rounded out the podium
The 5* win is the mare’s biggest at the height, but certainly not her first.
At just 10, Ivory TCS has collected 14 podium finishes with Coyle to date, highlighted by six wins and over 210,000 euros in career earnings, according to Jumpr App. The pair averages 25% for clear rounds and top 10 finishes over four rounds at 1.55m. Those averages jump to 50%, however, at 1.60m over the same number of rounds, suggesting there’s much more to come from this partnership.
Five star competition at the Continental continues Saturday with the 1.50m Township Planning Cup and Sunday with the 1.60m Canadian Utilities Grand Prix. Watch it live on ClipMyHorse.