An unseasonably cold Saturday night didn’t deter a world-class field from contesting the $200,000 Grand Prix CSI4*. Thirty athletes representing 15 countries took on the challenge, and in the end, it was World No. 11 Daniel Coyle (IRL) who piloted his longtime partner Farrel (Cardento 933 x Stakkato), owned by Ariel Grange, to a well-earned victory.
World-renowned course designer Leopoldo Palacios (VEN), assisted by Peter Grant (CAN), set a technical track that tested accuracy and rideability throughout the WEC Grand Arena. Nine combinations rose to the occasion, producing clear rounds to advance to the jump-off.
New Zealand’s Sharn Wordley was first to return with Brin D’or De Haute Melen Z, but an unlucky rail stopped the clock at 39.24 seconds. Jelmer Hoekstra (NED) followed with a clean round aboard Lordy-P in 40.63 seconds, while Hilary Scott and Max Wachman gave the track a valiant effort but were unable to catch the early pace.
Flying down the ramp next, Coyle entered the ring aboard the small but speedy Farrel. He explained his approach going into the jump-off, “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. So I decided to go a little slower and be second or third. So I went in with that in mind, but that also doesn’t always work, sometimes we kinda just go,” he laughed.
Once the tone sounded, the pair were off. “The jump-off was quite straightforward,” Coyle said. “One to two, there were no real numbers. Then the double. When I walked, it was five strides across the center, and 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.”
Coyle and Farrel powered through the final line, clearing the last oxer and stopping the timers in 39.24 seconds, a time that ultimately proved unbeatable.
Reflecting on his partnership with the now 16-year-old KWPN gelding, Coyle shared, “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. In the last 10 years of my career, he’s won the most. From ranking classes to National Grands Prix, Nations Cups, he’s been my most successful horse ever. Everybody’s getting a bit older, including him, and I really wanted to win tonight, just for Farrel.”
Jessica Mendoza (GBR) came closest to matching Coyle’s time, piloting her own In The Air (Air Jordan x Indoctro) to a blazing jump-off round in 39.70 seconds to secure second place. Speaking about the 13-year-old KWPN mare, Mendoza said, “She’s a special lady, and she has her own way of doing it. She has the biggest heart for her size. I am very lucky to have her.”
