Following his victory in Friday’s $65,000 J.P. Morgan Private Bank Welcome Stake of North Salem, Ireland’s Jordan Coyle proved uncatchable yet again in Sunday’s $225,000 Empire State Grand Prix presented by Old Salem Farm. He and Ariso were the first to finish double clear on a blazing time of 34.65 seconds and held onto the top of the leaderboard to close out the 2026 Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows.
Although Alan Wade set a technical 16-effort course at 1.55m for the initial round in the $225,000 Empire State Grand Prix, 10 of the 21 entries representing six nations answered the questions correctly and moved on to jump off for top honors. The additional speed proved to be an extra challenge over the shortened track, with just four entries posting double-clear scores. Coyle was nearly a full second ahead of his fellow competitors, bringing home the win aboard Elan Farm’s 15-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding in 34.65 seconds.
“Ariso probably should have won both the Welcome and the Grand Prix last week, to be honest,” Coyle said. “I didn’t want to let him down today, so for sure, I was just trying to be on my game. I didn’t change my plan at all after watching some of the others go. (The B element in the combination) was one jump I could count on him not knocking down, especially in a jump-off. He’s been doing these types of jump-offs for a while now, so he kind of knows what he’s doing. As long as I can stay out of his way, like today, he’s always going to be really good.
“This place has always been really lucky to me,” he added. “I started here when I first came to America; I spent a year riding here. Now, it’s nice to come back and be as competitive as we are every time we’re here. Going forward into the summer, we’ll have a week off, and then I’ll be heading to Rome for the 5* Nations Cup.”
Americans McKayla Langmeier and Katie Dinan rounded out the podium in second and third, respectively. Langmeier tripped the timers in 35.56 seconds aboard Riesling Van De Gaathoeve, Rafferty Farm LLC’s 9-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion. Fresh off their third-place finish in the Longines FEI World Cup™ Final in Fort Worth, Texas, Dinan and Out Of The Blue SCF (Grant Road Partners LLC’s 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare) weren’t far behind in 35.72 seconds.
Charlotte Jacobs (USA) posted the only other faultless score in 38.13 seconds with North Star’s 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Korbach Van De Renger for fourth place. With the fastest four-fault time of 34.77 seconds, Pieter De Brabandere (BEL) and Maarten Huygens’ 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Dothraki Warlord claimed fifth.
The Grand Prix opening ceremonies recognized McKeever for his induction into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame in March. As a key member of the neighboring Castle Hill Farm, McKeever has been part of the Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows for nearly 40 years. McKeever was inducted into the Hall of Fame because of his role as Castle Hill’s sport horse manager and close advisor of six-time U.S. Olympian McLain Ward – a role that has helped Ward successfully compete in many international events, including 20 FEI World Cup™ Finals and 14 major championships, winning 13 medals along the way. McKeever is always happy to share his incredible knowledge and expertise, not only with the Castle Hill team but also with other grooms and horsemen around the world.
Old Salem congratulates McKeever for this great honor and greatly appreciates everything he has done as a member of the equestrian community.
Results here.
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