Another Incredible Win for Daniel Coyle in the $117,000 Grand Prix CSIO 4* at Tbird

By Jumper News on 2025-05-31

Langley, Britisch Columbia, Canada – May 30, 2025 – If he keeps winning, we’re going to run out of ways to use “Incredible” in a sentence to describe Daniel Coyle’s (IRL) lovely, and yes, incredibly successful partner over the past two weeks at Thunderbird Show Park.

Friday afternoon the pair topped a five-horse jump-off in the $117,000 Grand Prix CSIO 4*, just ahead of fellow Irishman Conor Swail (IRL) with Casturano, and hometown hero Canadian Olympian Tiffany Foster (CAN) with Electrique.

Canadian course designer Peter Holmes (CAN) built a true test at the 1.55m level, and just five pairs on the start list were able to advance to the shortened second round. It should come as no surprise that the top three in the results were also the only three riders in the class with double-digit world rankings. (Coyle sits in 14th, Swail in 16th and Tiffany Foster, in 39th.)

Coyle and Incredible have only been together a little over a year, but with 54 starts and a 43% clear round rate at the 1.50m+ level (Jumpr stats), this pair is on an incredible trajectory together, especially here at tbird, having won the CSI4* Nations Welcome Qualifier earlier in the week.

Tiffany Foster (CAN), who had won her first 5* Grand Prix at Thunderbird in 2023, set the time to beat with Electrique, the former ride of world number-one ranked jumper Kent Farrington (USA). Electrique has a stride the size of Manhattan, which makes their rounds look deceptively relaxed, but they clocked in with a fault-free round in 42.240 seconds.

Coyle returned next and their jump-off round was nothing short of well, incredible. And for a horse that spends a lot of time in the air, they made up for it with a (no, we won’t) stunning rollback to the second fence before opening up at full gallop to the double combination in front of the Timber-frame VIP pavilion and dropping a stride in the line out of the double. A slice on the second-to-last with an eye already on the final fence, they held nothing back, stopping the clock in a sub-40 39.890 seconds.

Last to go, tbird’s winningest rider Conor Swail (IRL) on Casturano put in a foot-perfect clean but it wasn’t quite enough — slotting into second place with a time of 40.610 seconds.

Talking strategy after the round, Coyle credited a change to his bit and bridle with Incredible for improving their communication and partnership in the ring.

“In the past I always rode [Incredible] in a snaffle, but we ran into a bit of a snag at the World Cup Finals where he didn’t really know where he was going,” explained Coyle. “I didn’t want that to happen today, so we used a pelham bridle for the first round just to have more control and so I can place him at the jumps better and changed to a snaffle for the second round because I needed him to be free and run the way he did in the jump-off.

“It’s about figuring out your horse and what works best for him.”

This weekend, three Coyles will ride on Team Ireland in the $75,000 Nations CSIO 4* – Cup 1.55m. With his brother Jordan, and cousin Christian, along with Conor Swail, they hope to reproduce their 2023 tbird win. History might not repeat itself, but Team Ireland seems like a definite possibility given their track record year over year.