But the win was far from routine. Swail lost his left stirrup and a front shoe during the first round—and still managed to be one of only four pairs to advance to the jump-off of the Gregory Bodo-designed track.

“I mean, honestly, I do lose stirrups more often than I should,” Swail admitted. 

The mishap unfolded through the triple combination, he continued. “We came around the corner and jumped the liverpool-oxer and it was quite a long distance. That’s actually where he lost his shoe. And then the balancing nine [to the triple] got a bit short at the end. Thankfully I have enough scope that my horse was really good to jump the back rail [at B]. I think I was also trying to jump that back rail, and that’s where I lost my stirrup.”

Swail’s response? Calm, collected, and all business. “It doesn’t really bother me too much. It’s just about trying to get it back. And even if you can’t get it back, just continue with the plan.”

That plan produced a clear, putting Swail into the jump off alongside Olympians Katie Laurie (AUS) aboard Django II (Lordano x Brilliant Invader) and Amy Millar (CAN) on Jagger HX (Ustinov x Bustique). Australia’s Rowan Willis completed the quartet. 

Millar was first to reproduce the clear effort, crossing the timers of the short course in 48.86 seconds, but the lead was short lived. Swail snagged it just one round later, with a jump-off time of 46.65 seconds—this time stirrups firmly in place. It was ultimately good enough for the win and the scopey grey’s first Grand Prix title.

“I’ve had him just over a year, and the horse was a very big prospect as a young horse,” said Swail. “You can see the ability that he has… We’ve done already maybe three or four five-star Grand Prixs, so we’re starting to get more comfortable at that level. This is a great stepping stone for him. It’s a great win.”

Describing the horse’s powerful personality, Swail added: “He is very, very powerful. He’s a Cornet Obolensky [son], so he’s got a lot of spirit in him. He can be challenging, but I think that’s all good horses—they have a little quirk to them here and there. It’s just about trying to gauge that ability and power and use it in a positive way.”

The international field was stacked with Olympians including Canada’s Tiffany Foster and Amy Millar, USA’s Lucy Davis Kennedy, Australia’s Katie Laurie and Hilary Scott, and New Zealand’s Uma O’Neill, as well as proven tbird winners Kyle King (USA), James Chawke (IRL), and Charlie Jones (GBR). Yet Swail’s dominance was undeniable: he previously won Wednesday’s CSI4* Welcome on Theo 160 (Christian x Calando IV), and Thursday’s CSI4* Challenge on Nadal Hero & DB (Kannan GFE x Polydor), and the CSI2* Qualifier on Kazelli VDL (Arezzo VDL x Indoctro).

Millar continued her strong week, collecting her third runner-up finish in the 4* division, this time aboard 12-year-old KWPN gelding Jagger HX. The result marked a career-best finish for the Team Eye Candy and Millar Brooke Farm owned horse.

Laurie rounded out the top three on Django with a jump-off time of 49.49 seconds and four faults.

Looking ahead to next week’s CSI4* Odlum Brown BC Open, Swail will be doing double duty for Team Ireland, riding and serving as stand-in chef d’equipe as they look to defend their 2025 the Nations Cup title. “I think it’s going to be good fun. I think all the teams are quite inexperienced—a lot of our riders haven’t done so many Nations Cups. I think that’s the same for Mexico, the same for the States. So it’s gonna be fun. I am the old stalwart that’s done many Nations Cups. Looking forward to doing a different job.”