Ireland Sweeps the Day at Wellington International
Twelve weeks of 1.50m competition came to a peak on Saturday evening in the $150,000 Hermès CSI4* 1.50m Championship Jumper Series Final during the penultimate week of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) at Wellington International. From a field bursting with talent and international accolades, Ireland’s Jordan Coyle sealed the deal with For Gold from a 13-horse jump-off with less than a second to spare.
Forty-four qualified entries moved forward to the Hermès Final during the IDA Development sponsored WEF 11 over courses designed by Andy Christiansen (ECU). Coyle and For Gold, a 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding (For Fashion x Heraldik), owned by Falkirk Farm, returned halfway through the short course and posted a difficult time to beat.
“Winning anything here [at WEF] is pretty good. To be honest, that was one of the only times I ever went into the arena in a big competition and felt like I was one of the favorites,” said Coyle. “He felt very fast tonight, and I have come to know him very well.
“I thought Conor [Swail] was for sure going to beat me going to that last jump,” continued Coyle with a laugh. “He’s beat me plenty before, but luckily today it’s been the other way around. This is the first Saturday night that I’ve won. I’ve been trying for a while, so it’s pretty nice.”
Fellow Irishman Conor Swail traveled from California to finish his winter season in Wellington and returned last in the jump-off on Gamble for owner Asta Torokvei. He put the 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding’s massive stride to good use, crossing the timers in 39.84 seconds. The effort was strong, but not enough to beat Coyle’s time of 39.69 seconds.
“What Gamble does better than most horses is he turns extremely well, and I knew I was able to get inside that vertical after the double of verticals,” said Swail. “Everything came up well for me. WEF is where all the high level competition is and if you’re coming here and winning anything above 1.50m, you’ve really earned it. I’m glad that I’m able to come and show everybody that I am competitive.”
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