In most speed rounds, victory is found where riders dare to leave out strides. Conor Swail (IRL) and his longtime partner Theo 160 (Christian x Calando IV) took a different route, they added them. And still won.
The Irish veteran and his 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding stopped the clock at 61.73 seconds in Thursday’s CSI4* Table A 1.45m, edging Canada’s Amy Millar and Christiano (Canoso x Compliment) – 62.24 – and USA’s Kyle King aboard Odysseus (Osilvis x Riverman) – 63.33. But the winning time came as a genuine surprise to Swail, who watched his rivals roll forward and assumed he couldn’t match their speed.
“I was a wee bit surprised, honestly, to see how quick his time was,” said Swail. “I watched James [Chawke], I watched Kyle, I watched Amy—and they were moving. I’m like, I can’t do those steps. There wasn’t any leave outs.”
Instead, he relied on Theo’s quick footwork and tight turning to carve out fractions others couldn’t find. “It was one of those rounds where the whole way around everything came up good for me,” he continued. “Theo is very efficient, he moves the legs quickly. He hasn’t the biggest step, but he turned beautifully. I think he was just so fast and efficient and very good everywhere. It thankfully made me just that little bit quicker.”
The Langley crowd has watched Swail and Theo 160 rewrite record books for years. According to Jumpr Stats, the pair have amassed 74 international podium finishes since 2021, with 31 of those being victories. At this stage of Theo’s career, Swail aims the speedy chestnut at competitive 1.45m classes—and the gelding keeps delivering.
“Obviously, he’s getting a little older, but he’s been such a servant for me and wins so much,” Swail said, noting that they picked up three wins at the Desert Winter Circuit over the winter and two second place finishes earlier this month in Mexico. “He’s such a great horse, so I’m lucky to have him.”
Next week, Swail will do double duty for the Irish team. With regular chef d’equipe Jessica Kürten occupied at Aachen, Swail will step into the role of chef d’equipe and also ride for Team Ireland in the Nations Cup at tbird’s Odlum Brown BC Open.
“Jessica is busy with Aachen this week and La Baule next week,” Swail explained. “She’s given me the role of temporary chef d’equipe. I’m looking really forward to that. Obviously, I’ve been coming here doing [the Nations Cup] for a long time and I’ve done many, many Nations Cups in my career. The few other guys, they’re a bit more inexperienced—hopefully I can give them a bit of good advice and keep them all happy.”
