Daniel Coyle Flies to the Top in the $100,000 Wheels Up Grand Prix
World Equestrian Center – Ocala was brimming with spectator and exhibitors alike to watch the $100,000 Wheels Up Grand Prix. Thirty of the world’s best athletes representing nine different nations vied for the winning title over tracks built by FEI Level IV course designer, Leopoldo Palacios (VEN). Daniel Coyle (IRL), fresh off two European World Cup™ victories, continued his winning streak by clinching both first and second place.
Leopoldo Palacios crafted a challenging track, where a total of nine horse-and-rider combinations managed to jump a clear first-round effort. The tie-breaking field consisted of some of the sport’s quickest athletes, but it became a battle between New Zealand and Ireland in the end.
Daniel Coyle complimented tonight’s design, “It was a great course. I talked to Leopoldo before we started. He’s the best course builder there is. The most difficult for sure, but most people like that. He wanted nine clears and I think there were exactly nine, so he was right on it.”
Coyle piloted both of his entries, Quintin and Farrel, both owned by Ariel Grange, to a clear first round effort to qualify for the jump-off. He returned first aboard the 14-year-old KWPN gelding Quintin (Quaprice Bois Margot x Thamara). The pair flew around the track, taking tidy turns, and finding each fence on an open gallop to stop the clock at 38.358 seconds.
That time couldn’t be beat until Coyle returned on his second mount Farrel (Cardento 933 x Becherry). “I was lucky. I was able to go first on Quintin. He has a bigger stride, but Farrel is fast in a different way, he’s handy, neat and tidy in the way he jumps. I knew I had a good round on Quintin, but I knew I could do a whole lot more with Farrel, and I took quite a few risks.”
Read more:
Daniel Coyle Flies to the Top in the $100,000 Wheels Up Grand Prix – World Equestrian Center
