Irish Dream Team Brings Home Third Consecutive Nations Cup CSIO 4* Win at Thunderbird Show Park

By Jumper News on 2025-06-02

Langley, British Columbia, Canada – June 01, 2025 – For Irish team members Conor Swail (IRL), brothers Daniel and Jordan Coyle (IRL) and their cousin Christian Coyle (IRL), competing together on a team representing their home nation was a pipe dream. On Sunday, it became a reality. And reality was better than any of them dreamed.

If you’re choosing your fighters for Nations Cup action, three Coyles and a Swail is a safe bet. Both Daniel Coyle (IRL) and Swail are two of the most successful riders at Thunderbird Show Park in recent history, and the name Coyle has become nothing less than iconic as the family takes North American jumping by storm.

Irish chef d’equipe Michael Blake (IRL) was deliberate in choosing his four competitors for the $75,000USD Nations Cup CSIO 4* in Langley.

“I could say I chose them because they’re the only ones here, but actually I chose them because they’re all very good,” Blake remarked after his team’s victory. “Conor and Daniel have been on every winning team here, which have been quite a few. We’ve won the last three runnings and a few before that. So this, to be honest, is one of our favourite shows. The people here in Thunderbird, the Tidballs and Chris and Shauna, they are so good to us.”

Swail brought forth My Lady Lavista for the first time in team competition, and the 11-year-old mare (Mylord Carthago x Levisto) proved a champion.

**Conor Swail** (IRL) & **My Lady Levista**

“She’s one of the horses that are on the top of my string and I felt it was a good fit for her,” Swail said of “Lady.” “She’s had a lot of good results lately and it was a good time to step her up and try and compete for Ireland. I thought she did that very well.”

Swail and My Lady Levista rode a clear first round, helping Ireland to a zero total score in round one. “The first round was a bit scrappier and the second round was smoother but the first round was the better result,” Swail remarked. “At the end of the day it’s about getting the team result and thankfully it was good enough today for us to win again.”

After wins in the Qualifier and Grand Prix this week, Daniel Coyle (IRL) was simply on fire. With his partner Farrel back in action, he knew the horse was capable of showing up and bringing home the win. The 15-year-old gelding (Cardento x Stakkato) helped carry Ireland to the same victory in 2019.

“I’ve had a great two weeks here,” Coyle reflected. “I’ve been leading rider both weeks. I have two horses here that are in great form and this was also a big part of it. We wanted to win today with my brother and cousin on the team. Conor’s been my mentor and best man for years now so it’s nice we can all win together. Farrel hasn’t jumped a Nations Cup in six years so it’s pretty impressive for him to come back to this level.”

Swail has been a mentor for not just Daniel, but also helped coach the entire team through the day of jumping Sunday.

Jordan and Christian are newer to Nations Cup action, but when Blake asked the question, the answer was a resounding yes.

“I asked Jordan to come here and I said, ‘Come here today and show me what you can do.’ And it was flawless, it was perfect for what he did,” Blake said of Jordan’s double clear performance. “Christian, it’s his first time to get a run out and to be on a winning team first time out, he did two very good rounds.”

**Christian Coyle** (IRL) & **Extravaganza Semilly**

Extravaganza Semilly (Jarnac x Heartbreaker) is also only 11 years old and has debuted at the five-star level with Christian in the irons.

“I was just delighted to get an opportunity and I must thank Michael for that,” Christian Coyle (IRL) shared. “[Extravaganza Semilly] jumped a good first round and I maybe overrode the combination a little. I was confident going in that I could jump a clear round and I had an early rail and then she dug deep to stay on four so I was delighted.”

Jordan swooped in at the last minute to join the fun after a successful run on the East Coast.

“I was sixth in the Grand Prix [at Devon] and then I came here on Saturday, jumped yesterday and horse jumped great today so I can’t ask for more,” he said of his horse Chaccolino’s (Chacco-Blue x Heartbreaker) performance. The cross-country trek didn’t faze Jordan whatsoever.

“The hardest thing was getting on the plane,” he continued. “The rest is quite easy. This horse jumped 10 days ago in Old Salem, he jumped yesterday, so he had enough jumping and I had enough people around me to keep everything rolling. All I had to do was show up.”

All four team members showed up in more ways than one, and it ended in a victorious day for Ireland yet again. They edged out the home team, as Canada took the second place position. Team members Tiffany Foster (CAN), Ali Ramsay (CAN), Vanessa Mannix (CAN), and Mario Deslauriers (CAN) put in strong rounds to keep Canada in fighting position. Mexico—a team featuring Eugenio Garza Perez (MEX), Juan Pablo Jimenez (MEX), Alejandro Mills (MEX), and Patricio Pasquel (MEX) —brought home third.

It’s safe to say the Irish quartet operated much more like a family than a team of competitors chasing a trophy on this occasion.

“I don’t think anybody ever knew that [the four of us on a team] would happen because there’s no such thing,” Daniel said. “We all dreamed that it would happen. It’s pretty cool that it did.”