Daniel Coyle Leaves His Legacy in London! Irishman Impresses to Win the €125,000 London Grand Prix CSI 5*-W

By Jumper News on 2023-12-19

London, England – December 18, 2023 – The final day of the London International Horse Show provided a fitting conclusion to what has been a six-day exhibition of equestrian excellence. Notable victories in Show Jumping were achieved by the esteemed John Whitaker in the Six Bar, London International Horse Show Ambassador Jodie Hall McAteer in the Mistletoe Speed Stakes. The concluding class of the Show, the prestigious €125,000 London Grand Prix CSI 5*-W , was won by Ireland’s Daniel Coyle (IRL) riding Legacy, who produced a flawless double clear over the challenging 1.60m course.

The €125,000 London Grand Prix CSI 5*-W provided a fitting conclusion to the 2023 edition of the London International Horse Show, featuring 29 of the world’s best horse and rider combinations. Shane Breen was the first to jump clear over Guilherme Jorge’s (BRA) testing 1.60m track, which required a combination of precision and agility. Dutch rider Jur Vrieling (NED) secured the jump-off jumping clear aboard Griffin van de Heffinck, however it was Scott Brash (GBR) who delighted the home fans when he added his name to the list of riders heading through to face the shortened course.

Daniel Coyle (IRL), riding Legacy – the horse on which he was third in the FEI Jumping World CupTM – was the next to progress to the jump-off, with Britain’s reigning Olympic champion, Ben Maher (GBR) adding to the home crowd’s excitement with the fifth clear of the night. Additional clears came from 22-year-old French rider Jeanne Sadran (FRA), Switzerland’s Adrian Schmid (SUI) and former London Grand Prix winner Marcus Ehning (GER), bringing the total number of clears to eight.

Looking ahead to the jump-off, Brash said “I’m delighted with Hello Valentino’s performance so far, it’s one of the biggest courses he’s done – he’s still a young horse. Every horse is different, they are all individuals and they have to get used to competing on a stage like this, but I’m very pleased with him so far, so I’ll try my best.”

Ireland’s Shane Breen (IRL) was the first to tackle the jump-off, which involved tight turns and long galloping distances, however accrued eight faults trying to set the pace required to win such a prestigious class. Vrieling – a former World and European team gold medalist – showed how it should be done, making the turns and jumping double clear, but left the door ajar to anyone willing to risk taking less strides down to the final fence.

An in-form Coyle did just that on Legacy, scorching through the two fantastically tight turns incorporated into the jump-off which caught out his fellow riders, and knocking over two seconds off Vrieling’s time. Yesterday’s FEI Jumping World Cup™ victor, Maher, had the crowd on the edge of their seats with a slick clear and nearly looked to have done enough, however his time of 34.90 seconds was 0.08 seconds slower than the Irishman, and put him into second place.

Last into the arena was Germany’s Ehning (GER), who has competed at this Show every year since 1998. Ehning rode a masterfully smooth round, however he was not able to challenge the leaders and his double clear in a time of 39.03 seconds put him in fourth.

A delighted Coyle said: “It is amazing to have won The London Grand Prix tonight and I did it for everyone in my team. I could not have done it without them behind me. It is totally unbelievable, although I wish I had also won yesterday as well. I was hungry for the win coming into this competition so it is brilliant to have achieved it, Legacy was amazing – she deserved it.”

Speaking of his closest rivals, he continued: “These guys are pushing the limits. Ben had a great win yesterday and it was well deserved. Ben gave me a bit of a fright again tonight, as he is such a fast rider – he is an Olympic gold medalist after all. I am just delighted to be amongst these great riders and honoured to be riding with them. We always watched the London International Horse Show whilst growing up at home; my brother is also a rider so it is amazing to be competing here, let alone winning. This show contains a huge amount of history and it is great to be a part of it.”

Final Results – €125,000 London Grand Prix CSI 5*-W

1) Daniel Coyle (IRL) & Legacy – 0 / 0 – 34.82

2) Ben Maher (GBR) & Ginger-Blue – 0 / 0 – 34.90

3) Jur Vrieling (NED) & Griffin van de Heffinck– 0 / 0 – 37.18

FULL RESULTS

course map

Source: Press Release from Niki McEwen / Revolution World for the London International Horse Show