Daniel Coyle has begun his Spruce Meadows season at Calgary in Canada with successes aboard Nord Face VDL and Farrel.

In the Mercer Cup in the All Canada Ring, the Irishman was among 33 combinations taking on the course designed by Irish FEI Course Designer Tom Holden.

With eight horse and rider combinations successfully delivering clears in the opening round to advance to the second, it was Coyle and Nord Face VDL who eventually came out on top with a clear round in 35.24 seconds to secure Mercer Cup victory.

Kyle King was runner-up aboard Ninja BF, with New Zealand’s Katie Laurie completing the podium with Miss Montreal P.

All-Irish Podium in The Recon Metal Cup

A second victory on the board for the Derry rider came with a win aboard Farrel in The Recon Metal Cup 1.55m.

A key qualifying competition for the RBC Grand Prix of Canada, the class drew 46 entries to the International Ring. FEI Course Designer Olaf Petersen Jr.’s 605-metre track, featuring 13 obstacles (16 efforts), and a time allowed of 91 seconds, saw only 12 combinations progress to the jump-off.

Aboard his trusted mare Farrel, Coyle produced a brilliant clear round, stopping the timers in 38.63 seconds to secure top spot on the podium.

Coyle also took the runner-up spot with Urville Z, while Conor Swail completed an all-Irish podium with Clonterm Obolensky in third.

Swail took the runner-up position in the Francis Family Cup 1.50m with Kazelli VDL, behind Belgian Jos Verlooy and Parise Van Den Dael.

Spruce Meadows “one of the best places”

A regular visitor to Spruce Meadows, Daniel Coyle admitted after his second victory at the venue this week:

“Spruce Meadows is great. You come here for the four tournaments and you stay in one place, which we don’t get to do much. The horses can grow every week and you can jump a bigger class or a smaller class depending how your week is going so it’s a really big thing in our schedule.”

“We plan to come every year, because we get to know the horses a little better before we go on tour but not only that, Spruce Meadows is one of the best places in the world.”

‘National’ Double for Coyle and Nord Face VDL

On Saturday, Coyle and Nord Face VDL took their second win together at the Spruce Meadows ‘National’ show, when they claimed The Maritime Travel Cup.

A course designed by Tom Holden attracted 37 starters with eight progressing to the jump-off, before Coyle and Nord Face VDL proved quickest with a clear round in 37.59 seconds.

Kyle King and Ninja, BF, runner-up to Coyle and Nord Face VDL a few days previously in The Mercer Cup, had to settle for the same position again this time, while Emily Esau Williams from the USA, riding Air Jordan Delacense, took third.

Farrel third in Grand Prix of Canada

The RBC Grand Prix of Canada, presented by Rolex, took centre stage on Saturday, welcoming 31 horse and rider combinations from around the world to the iconic International Ring.

Designed by FEI Course Designer Olaf Petersen Jr., the 570-metre first-round track featured 14 obstacles (17 efforts) and a time allowed of 86 seconds. Only six combinations representing six different nations, including Daniel Coyle, successfully navigated the course without fault to advance to the jump-off.

On his first-ever visit to Spruce Meadows, Colombia’s Mark Bluman rose to the occasion aboard Landon de Nyze, delivering one of only two double-clear performances of the day. The pair stopped the clock in 44.44 seconds to secure victory.

Belgian Jos Verlooy and Nixon Van’t Meulenhof also delivered a fault-free jump-off effort, finishing second in 49.02 seconds.

Rounding out the podium was in-form Daniel Coyle and Farrel, whose blistering jump-off time of 41.99 seconds proved the fastest of the afternoon, but a single rail down left the pair on four faults, earning third place despite their impressive speed.

Conor Swail and Clonterm Obolensky finished inside the top-10, in eighth place.

LiveScores Now Available at IrishScores.com