Daniel Coyle of Ireland and his veteran partner, Legacy, stormed to victory in the $150,000 Mad Barn Big Ben International Challenge on Thursday evening, November 9, at the Royal Horse Show in Toronto, ON.

Twenty-two starting combinations contested the first-round track set by British course designer Kelvin Bywater, and seven jumped fault-free to advance to the jump-off. U.S. Olympian Kent Farrington set the time to beat at 36.75 seconds aboard Greya, the nine-year-old Oldenburg mare (Colestus x Contender) owned by Kent Farrington LLC. Galloping across the Coca-Cola Coliseum, it looked like Farrington was on the cusp of another victory, until Coyle entered the arena two rides later. After taking every risk, the luck of the Irish paid off for Coyle with a clear round and an unbeatable time of 35.72 seconds. In the end, Farrington would settle for second this time around after winning on Wednesday, while Switzerland’s Beat Mändli completed the top three as the fastest four-faulter in the jump-off in 37.03 seconds with Dsarie, a 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Veron x Ahorn) owned by Grant Road Partners.

In 2022, Coyle and Legacy triumphed in the marquee event of the Royal Horse Show, the $250,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Toronto. It was a meaningful win for Coyle as Legacy’s owner, Ariel Grange of Lothlorien Farm, is a Toronto native. Now, they look poised to repeat that success in 2023.

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