DANIEL COYLE CLAIMS MILLION DOLLAR ATCO QUEEN ELIZABETH II CUP AT SPRUCE MEADOWS NORTH AMERICAN
The final Grand Prix of the Spruce Meadows Summer Tournaments, the $1,000,000 ATCO Queen Elizabeth II Cup, promised crowds an exciting afternoon of top showjumping. 27 horse/rider combinations challenged the first round, 615m track designed by FEI Course Designer Santiago Varela (ESP). The top 12 placed riders from the first round then challenged a second track in hopes a combined score would leave them at the top or force a jump-off.
Amongst the top 12 returning for the second round were some of the week’s previous winners, Kyle King (USA), Daniel Coyle (IRL) and Jordan Coyle (IRL) - who won the AKITA Drilling Cup earlier in the day. They were joined by Abdulrahman Alrajhi (KSA) who also finished on zero faults over the two rounds to create a four-horse jump-off.
Daniel Coyle was ready for a big win and he made this Grand Prix day the day. After two rounds of jumping, a jump-off was required to determine the winner.
Jordan Coyle held the lead briefly with a clear jump-off time of 35.86 seconds but younger brother Daniel piloting the incredible, Incredible, crossed the finish line clear in a time of 35.21s.
Kyle King (USA) - who won the Friday evening competition - came close to topping Daniel’s time but finished second with a clear round time of 35.29 seconds. A rail in the jump-off kept Alrajhi off the podium.
“I like to come here for the summer because every horse gets a little better, even the horses at the top of the game. But not only that, we also have some six, some seven year-olds here, and, they are the future, so we have to bring them along as well.” - Daniel Coyle (IRL) on how his horses improve at every level during the Spruce Meadows Summer Tournament.
Top 10 Placed:
- Daniel Coyle (IRL) & Incredible
- Kyle King (USA) & Kayenne Z
- Jordan Coyle (IRL) & Chaccolino
- Abdulrahman Alrajhi (KSA) & Ventago
- Sameh el Dahan (GBR) & Oscar-A
- Tiffany Foster (CAN) & Elecrique
- Elena Haas (USA) & Claude
- Jose Antonio Chedraui Prom (MEX) & Haraminka P
- Alex Matz (USA) & Ikigai
- Paul O’Shea (IRL) & Imerald Van’T Voorhof
--ENDS--
Full results here