A GREAT NIGHT TO BE DANIEL AS COYLE AND BLUMAN TOP OPENING INTERNATIONAL JUMPER CLASSES AT 2022 WIHS
The 2022 Washington International Horse Show continued on Thursday, October 27, at Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, where daytime junior hunter competition gave way to the first evening session, featuring the opening international jumper classes during Barn Night, held in partnership with Green Is The New Blue. It was the Irish who struck first as Daniel Coyle and Legacy turned and burned for victory in the $75,000 Welcome Stake, followed by a win for Israel with Daniel Bluman and Ubiluc leading the victory gallop for the $36,000 International Jumper Accumulator class.
“The first class is usually a smaller class, which makes it a little easier for everybody to get introduced to the ring and the crowd, obviously,” remarked Coyle of his first trip around the Show Place Arena. “Sometimes it can be daunting going straight into a big class like that, but it worked out for me tonight.”
Twenty-eight starters represented 10 countries in the star-studded field, where nine combinations managed to jump fault-free across Bernardo Cabral’s (POR) first round track to advance to the jump-off. Katie Dinan (USA) produced the first double clear with Grant Road Partners LLC’s Atika des Hauts Vents in 30.80 seconds. Next in the ring, Coyle shaved more than three seconds off the time, blazing through the timers in 27.42 seconds. Hunter Holloway (USA) and Pepita con Spita, owned by Hays Investment Corp., came the closest with a clear effort in 30.32 seconds, but in the end it was Coyle and Legacy who finished on top. Holloway ended in second, and Dinan was third.
“Actually, the jump-off was only six fences, and an indoor arena is usually quite short,” explained Coyle. “I would say probably the turn back to the double combination and the second to last fence is where it came up good for me.”
Coyle has had the ride on Legacy for four years. She was purchased with major championship classes in mind, and she’s lived up to those expectations. Last year, Coyle and the 12-year-old Zangersheide mare (Chippendale Z x Bon Ami) made their championship debut at the European Championships with a top 10 finish and were also selected for this year’s World Championships.
“She’s been incredible to me,” said Coyle of the superstar owned by Ariel Grange. “She knows the ropes now, and we’ve sort of gelled together over the last four years, and hopefully we continue to. She’s funny because she’s always trying so hard. At a new place sometimes you’re not sure how much effort she’s going to put in. Her main thing is she doesn’t want to knock the jumps down.”
When you’re the boss mare of the barn, you basically get to do what you want, and Coyle wouldn’t have it any other way.
“She’s very opinionated,” shared Coyle. “My groom, Greg, gets on great with her. Sometimes he’ll leave food sitting where he’s tacking her up, and she’ll take it. She kind of gets away with everything because she wins a lot and she’s a fantastic horse, and nobody ever wants to tell her anything. It’s great because I only need her for an hour a day, so whatever she does in her own time, that’s up to her.”
For his win, Coyle was presented with the Ben O’Meara Memorial Cup.
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