Gavin Moylan (CAN) knew exactly what—and who—stood between him and victory in the CSIO4* Table A 1.45m at the Odlum Brown BC Open. Watching from the in-gate, he saw Irishman Conor Swail lay down another characteristically quick jump-off round. Then Moylan and Anton 869 (Action-Breaker x Chambertin) went one better.
“It’s always fun to beat Conor,” Moylan said with a grin after stopping the clock at 32.03 seconds, edging Swail’s 33.56.
Swail already had five international wins on five horses under his belt at tbird’s spring series when he set the time to beat in Thursday’s jump off class. But Moylan used the draw to his advantage.
“I was lucky that I was able to go late in the jump off. I followed Conor, so I was standing at the in-gate watching him,” Moylan explained. “He put in a quick Conor trip, but I certainly thought that if I could get a good run to fence one, I could maybe beat him between one and two.”
The plan went precisely to plan. “I caught what I wanted from one to two, and then things kept coming up a little quick for me. That black-and-white vertical came up a little bigger than I was thinking it would, and my horse was very good to me. Anton tried really hard there—left a good long ways away from that and jumped it well. We had a good rollback back to the combination, and then I could just kind of be patient to the last jump.”
Swail and Nadal Hero & DB (Kannan x Polydor) settled for second, while Mexico’s Juan Pablo Gaspar Albañez took third with Diareno Blue PS (Diaron OLD x Chacco-Blue) in 34.06 seconds.
Moylan, originally from Grande Prairie, Alberta, now rides for a true family operation. “We’ve owned Anton for a year and a half. He’s owned by my mother-in-law, who’s also my sponsor—she’s also a good friend of mine,” Moylan said. “We kind of have a family endeavour going on right now between my in-laws, my mother, my wife, and myself. It’s all a family affair. All the horses I ride are ours.”
Of Anton 869, he added: “He’s been just solid, solid, solid. This is really his niche—these kind of speed classes at 1.45m, 1.50m. He’s just very competitive every day, and I feel like I’ve got a chance every time I go in the ring.”
Though he has lived in the United States for 30 years, Moylan remains proudly Canadian. “Still an Oilers fan—just like everyone else, I’m praying for a goalie,” he joked. “But I’ve always dreamed and hoped that I could ride for Canada and the team one day.”
This week at the Odlum Brown BC Open, he is. Moylan is one of five riders named to the Nations Cup team representing Canada.
Four-star competition at the Odlum Brown BC Open continues this week with the Grand Prix on Friday, the 1.50m on Saturday, and the Nations Cup on Sunday.
