Conor Swail added more than a touch of drama to the finale of Toronto’s Royal Agricultural Winter Fair as he won the $200,000 Longines FEI World Cup Qualifier on Casturano with his trademark flair.
Conor Swail and Casturano. (Ben Radvanyi Photo)
In the first round Saturday night, he lost his right stirrup partway through the course but kept on going without attempting to get it back, laser focusing on the fences.
In the three-horse jump-off, the 53-year-old Irishman took off a heart-stopping stride early from the second fence, but sailed over the oxer and kept right on going. His opponents in the tie-breaker were two 21-year-olds from the U.S., Mimi Gochman on Inclen BH, who went off-course after her horse slipped, and Skyler Wireman with Barclino B. Skylar was timed in 42.08 seconds, but her opponent bettered that with a mark of 41.24 seconds.
“If I do my job correctly and give him a good opportunity to do well, he generally does,” said Conor of his mount.
Referring to his competition in the jump-off, he noted, “Both these kids are very good riders and they are great horsewomen. They’re tough to beat, so when I went in last and saw an opportunity there for me to win, I gave it my best shot.”
The tight time allowed of 70 seconds in the first round over the route set by Olaf Petersen Jr. put pressure on the riders. Rene Dittmer (Cody139) and Canadian favorite Nicole Walker (Panter JVH) each logged a time fault. New Canadian champion Kyle Timm (Casino Calvin) was just within the time but had the last fence down.
Conor now heads the list of North American qualifiers for April’s Longines FEI World Cup Finals in Ft. Worth, Texas, which is a coveted destination for most top riders.
“I really wanted to win this one,” said Conor.
“For me, there was a great opportunity there tonight to do it. I tried to grab it with both hands. I produced this horse, he’s my top horse. He’s an incredible athlete. As much as it’s a great win for me, he really deserves it more than me. He’s been knocking on the door.
“Today we got it all right together,” he observed. It was a relief, as he noted this hasn’t been a great season for him.
“A lot of weight lifted off of me just getting that win tonight. The horse deserves it. I really thought he did a lot for me there today.”
Conor wants to go to the World Cup Final, and believes his Holsteiner gelding is in a position to do well there.
“I feel he’s ready to do it. I think he can give it a good run. He’s an incredible athlete and he jumps an awful lot of clear rounds.”
Conor may well meet Skylar again at the Cup finals.
“This horse is only nine, so I’m very proud of him jumping double clear tonight,” said Skylar, who has ridden the Holsteiner for the last year after she and her mother, Shayne Wireman, bought him with a group of investors. During the summer, she rode him to double gold in the Young Rider section of the North American Youth Championships.
“I know that he’s fast,” said Skylar, “but I also knew Conor was behind me, so at that point my goal was to do a solid round and hope that it would be fast enough. He’s always right there with me waiting for me to tell him what to do. It is a real treat to be able to ride a horse like that.”
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