Ireland's Daniel Coyle Poised to Claim Caledon Cup

With wins in the first two phases, Ireland’s Daniel Coyle is poised to hoist his first Caledon Cup trophy at the CSI2* Canadian Show Jumping Tournament running September 19 to 23 at the Caledon Equestrian Park in Caledon, ON.

Riding Farrel, Coyle won Thursday’s $10,000 Caledon Cup – Phase One before claiming victory once more in Friday night’s $35,000 Caledon Cup – Phase Two, presented by HEP, Aviva Insurance, and Edge Mutual Insurance. He now has a firm grip on the point standings heading into Sunday’s third and final phase, the $50,000 Caledon Cup – Phase Three.

The results of Thursday’s opening phase mirrored last year’s results with Coyle, 23, taking the win over ten-time Canadian Olympian Ian Millar, 71, riding Dixson. This year, Coyle posted a winning time of 65.30 seconds in the opening speed competition to take top spot over Millar, who stopped the clock in 66.27 seconds. It was a win-win for Ariel Grange, however, as she owns both Farrel and Dixson.

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For Friday night’s $35,000 Caledon Cup – Phase Two, the competition moved indoors where 11 horse-rider combinations jumped clear over the track set by course designer Bernardo Cabral of Portugal, setting the stage for a thrilling jump-off. Coyle had the advantage of being last to return for the jump-off with Farrel, having already tackled the short course with another mount, Legacy.

“I had seen Beth Underhill’s round and it was very fast but she had the last fence down,” said Coyle of his jump-off strategy. “I judged the rest of the people based on Beth’s time. I had a plan, I knew what I had to do, and luckily my horse jumped clear.”

Coyle’s jump-off time of 35.80 seconds gave him the win over 22-year-old Veronica Bot of Burlington, ON, who stopped the clock in 37.50 seconds riding Cool Down 3 while Millar settled for third place with a jump-off time of 39.76 seconds, this time riding Truman. While Underhill of Schomberg, ON, easily had the fastest time in the jump-off, 34.69 seconds, the four faults she incurred left her seventh in the final standings with Count Me In.

Farrel, an eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Cardento x Stakkato), was purchased at the VDL auction held in Wellington, FL, as a six-year-old. This summer, Coyle and Farrel benefitted from competing in Europe, where they posted strong results at CSI4* Samorin (Slovakia), CSI2* Zuidwolde (Netherlands), and CSI2* Millstreet (Ireland).

“He’s like a pony; he’s not a very big horse but when you get on him, he grows four or five hands!” said Coyle of his winning mount. “He’s very easy going for horse with a lot of blood. He loves to watch other horses jump. I notice him just standing watching the ring when other horses are jumping which is a little strange, I suppose, but he really loves what he does. When you have one that really wants to do it, it makes winning a bit easier.”

Having contested Phase One of the Caledon Cup outdoors, Coyle didn’t mind the challenge of moving indoors at night for Phase Two.

“You have to have a horse that doesn’t really mind different situations, and it makes Tournament a little more exciting to jump in a different ring with a bit of atmosphere,” said Coyle of competing in the indoor arena, which was built when the Caledon Equestrian Park hosted the 2015 Pan American Games equestrian events.

As for what it would mean for the 23-year-old to win his first Caledon Cup, Coyle said, “It would be great, especially as the horse only just moved up to this level. It is also Ariel’s home show, so it would be nice to win the overall Caledon Cup title here. I’m very appreciative of Ariel’s support, and it’s great that all of the horses are going so well.”

Sunday’s $50,000 Caledon Cup – Phase Three, presented by HEP, Aviva Insurance, and Edge Mutual Insurance, will decide the overall standings and the winner of the 2018 Caledon Cup title. The list of past winner’s reads like a who who’s of show jumping with Hugh Graham (2009), Jill Henselwood (2010), Ian Millar (2011, 2014 and 2015), Yann Candele (2012), Conor Swail (2013), Nicole Walker (2016), and Ali Ramsay (2017) having all hoisted the coveted Caledon Cup since its inception.

The CSI2* Canadian Show Jumping Tournament is the fourth and final FEI-sanctioned competition hosted by Equestrian Management Group (EMG) at the Caledon Equestrian Park this season. For more information, including full results and competition schedule, visit www.caledonequestrianpark.com.

$10,000 Caledon Cup – Phase One
Rider/Hometown/Horse/Faults/Time
1. Daniel Coyle/Ireland/Farrel/0/65.30
2. Ian Millar/Perth, ON/Dixson/0/66.27
3. Beth Underhill/Schomberg, ON/Count Me In/0/67.80
4. Daniel Coyle/Ireland Legacy/0/69.02
5. Alexanne Thibault/Boucherville, QC/Chacco Prime/0/70.05
6. Ali Ramsay/Victoria, BC/Casino/0/72.83
7. Susan Horn/Bolton, ON/KS Coradina/0/73.85
8. Courtney Vince/Burlington, ON/Valetto JX/0/81.36
9. Sam Walker/Caledon, ON/Acardi du Houssoit Z/4/65.52
10. Hyde Moffatt/Brantford, ON/Grafton/4/66.57
11. Veronica Bot/Burlington, ON/Cool Down 3/4/69.49
12. Hyde Moffatt/Brantford, ON/Granturo/4/69.56

$35,500 CSI2* Caledon Cup – Phase Two
Rider/Hometown/Horse/Faults/Time
1. Daniel Coyle/Ireland/Farrel/0:0/35.80
2. Veronica Bot/Burlington, ON/Cool Down 3/0:0/37.50
3. Ian Millar/Perth, ON/Truman/0:0/39.76
4. Ainsley Vince/Burlington, ON/Darling/0:0/40.65
5. Mac Cone/King City, ON/Zaia di san Giovanni/0:0/41.08
6. Amy Millar/Perth, ON/Heros/0:0/41.15
7. Beth Underhill/Schomberg, ON/Count Me In/0:4/34.69
8. Alexanne Thibault/Boucherville, QC/Chacco Prime/0:4/37.02
9. Susan Horn/Bolton, ON/KS Coradina/0:4/39.84
10. Ian Millar/Perth, ON/Dixson/0:8/37.74
11. Daniel Coyle/Ireland/Legacy/0:12/50.55
12. Hyde Moffatt/Brantford, ON/Grafton/4