Following a successful partnership that lasted five years, Lothlorien Farm, owned and operated by Susan and Ariel Grange, have parted ways with rider Conor Swail of Ireland.
The split was an amiable one, with Swail opting to pursue his own career goals. “It was definitely amicable,” commented Sue Grange. “I always knew that eventually he would want to go. There are so many options. All the riders are doing the big shows and I knew eventually he would want to go that way, and I knew I wouldn’t. It was just a matter of when.
“He wants his have his own barn and manage the horses he rides himself. He wants to travel and show around the world a little more. My enjoyment is running my own barn. I’ve always managed my own horses, and purchased my own horses. I’m not just the owner that hands the rider money and says ‘go and find a horse and send me the bill.’ My love is the training and managing programs. I also don’t want [the horses] to be too far afield, because I like to go watch them. I don’t want to live out of a suitcase.”
Swail had great success with the Lothlorien string, with 175 top-six placings and 65 wins in international competition, for total winnings of over $2 million aboard horses including Lansdowne, Grafton, Ariana, Cita, Simba de la Roque, and Dillinger. The most recent came at Spruce Meadows in June, when he rode Martha Louise to first place in the $500,000 RBC CSI5* Grand Prix. For other interests, he recently competed at CSI5* Los Angeles, riding Cenzo and Hetman of Colors for owners Ilan Ferder and Tal Milstein.
Daniel Coyle will be taking up where Swail left off. “He’s only 22 and he’s a talented rider from Ireland and he’s been riding for me all year. He came over as a working student with Conor and he started riding some of mine and now have him working full time,” said Grange.
“I think he rode 10 of my horses at Spruce Meadows and I think he won a class with every one of them. One of them he won three classes with [Fortis Fortuna] and another one a couple [Somerset], so he’s been very successful. He’s had all the younger horses and all the up-and-coming horses, whereas Conor has had the string of six grand prix horses.”
Coyle will be competing at The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in the U25 National Championship with Fortis Fortuna, while Lothlorien’s grand prix string enjoy their annual break. “I give my horses a two-and-a-half-month holiday every fall, so their shoes are off and they are out in the field now,” noted Grange.
Lothlorien will be represented in the International division by Ian Millar and Dixson. Normally Dixson would also be on holiday, but as he was out for the bulk of the year after having nasal surgery, he will be competing at this year’s show.
More from Horse Sport:
