February 3, 2026 
At age 16, Daniel Coyle’s longtime mount, Farrel, doesn’t always come out for the Grand Prix. But when he does, he almost always comes to play.
Coyle and Farrel did just that on the chilly Saturday evening of February 1 at the World Equestrian Center (WEC) in Ocala. There, the Irish rider and the 16-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Ariel Grange bested a field of 30 starters to take home the Gary Yeomans Ford 4* Grand Prix under the lights.
“This year, I’ve been very fast, but have had a fence down. I could be two or three seconds faster, but with a fence down,” Coyle explained of his luck so far in the 2026 season. “So, I decided to go a little slower and be second or third. [I] went in with that in mind, but that also doesn’t always work. Sometimes we kinda just go,” he joked.
Nine combinations solved the riddle of the first-round track laid by Course Designer Leopoldo Palacios (VEN) assisted by Peter Grant (CAN). While Coyle felt the jump-off was “straightforward,” he didn’t plan to rely on stride numbers, except for avoiding a five-stride line across the center, which he figured was out of reach for Farrel.
“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,” said Coyle, who stopped the clock at 39.24 seconds. Jessica Mendoza (GBR) was second with In the Air on 39.70 seconds, while World No. 8 Nina Mallevaey (FRA) took third with Nikka Vd Bisschop (40.11 seconds).
Impressively, Coyle would triumph again one day later in Sunday’s Golden Ocala 2* Grand Prix aboard his brand-new partner, Urville Z. The 13-year-old Zangersheide mare, previously campaigned by Egypt’s Ahmed Naser Elnaggar, has only competed three, 1.45m classes with Coyle in the last week, and finished clear and on the podium in each of them.
But it’s Coyle’s partner of eight years, Farrel, who truly has his heart. As the story goes, the gelding suffered a serious injury in 2019 which required a surgery just to make him paddock-sound. After making a full recovery, Farrel’s vets reassessed his prognosis, determining he might just be ready to step back into the Grand Prix ring—something Coyle believes is the gelding’s preference.
“If there’s one thing about this little horse, it’s that he loves doing what he does,” Coyle has said. “Otherwise, he wouldn’t do it. He’s smaller than any other horse out there, but he doesn’t believe that.”
And many times, when Farrel suspends belief, he wins.
“We’ve had Farrel since he just turned seven. He’s been amazing. He’s my most successful horse ever on paper, which a lot of people don’t know,” Coyle said. “In the last 10 years of my career, he’s won the most.”
According to Jumpr Stats, in fact, the pair have finished on 10 Grand Prix podiums, the vast majority at 1.55m and higher. Together, they’ve earned more than €654,000 in career prize money, maintaining a clear round average of 54% in 19 rounds at 1.60m+, and finishing on the podium a standout 56% of the time.
“From ranking classes to National Grands Prix, Nations Cups, he’s been my most successful horse ever,” Coyle reflected after his victory on Saturday. “Everybody’s getting a bit older, including him, and I really wanted to win tonight, just for Farrel.”
