The Rolex Grand Prix of Ireland once again showed off the genius of Irish course designer Alan Wade, as he produced a thriller of a nine-horse jump-off from a field of 40 in Sunday’s class worth $1.155 million.
The first round in Dublin, as produced by the man who will lay out the fences for the LA 28 Olympics, offered plenty of suspense also. World number one and FEI World Cup champion Kent Farrington of the USA, who seemed to enjoy an edge on the remarkable Greya, clipped a back rail at the C element of the triple combination to wind up fourteenth with four faults.
Looking toward LA28, Kent carefully conserves Greya, who was not part of the victorious U.S. team in Friday’s Nations Cup. (Click here to read about it.)
Kent’s perspective on LA28 also is why he bowed out of team consideration for the world championships later this month.
No U.S. rider made the tiebreaker. Best-placed in eleventh, the second-fastest of the 4-faulters, was Natalie Dean with Acota M. Natalie was a late call-up to the U.S. squad for the championships with Mr. Boombastic, the horse she rode on the squad that took the Aga Khan trophy in the Nations Cup.
Laura Kraut, the winner of the grand prix on Bisquetta last year when there was no jump-off, did not have the same kind of luck this time around on Una Mariposa. After a splash in the water jump during the first round, her mare crashed into the green wall obstacle and disarranged it. With no point in continuing, she withdrew.
As always, there was hope for an Irish winner at the Royal Dublin Society showgrounds (where the Anglesea stands have been beautifully remodeled along the grass field for extra visual impact).
The grass arena showed off a variety of fences, which you can read about in the Nations Cup article linked four paragraphs up). The rails fell all around the course, and more than one hoof touched water, as everyone strove to make the 80-second time allowed, which 10 competitors were unable to accomplish.
Alan Wade
The first fence in the class was a vertical flanked by horseheads, and it had no groundline, which offered a challenge, as did the Holy Cross Abbey windows on either side of another vertical. Appropriately, the triple combination, and the final fence of the class after it were all in Rolex yellow and green. The literature fence, with a cover of James Joyce’s Ulysses on the side, was a narrow obstacle that caught more than its share of errors.
Jordan Coyle, who has had an amazing week, including helping the Irish team to second place in the Nations Cup and victory in the puissance Saturday night as well as other top prizes, came close to delivering the grand prix for his homeland. But his clear tiebreaker round in 39.27 seconds on Chaccolino wound up less than two seconds short of what would be the winning trip.
That belonged to 2012 Olympic individual gold medalist Steve Guerdat of Switzerland in 37.81 seconds on Albfuehren’s Iashin Sitte, a Belgian warmblood who has been Steve’s consistent partner. The son of Bamako de Muze helped his rider realize a longtime dream, as he carried him to the fourth Swiss victory in the class since 2017.
Steve Guerdat realized a dream in Dublin.
“I’m aware of the history of that class and that’s why it means so much to me, besides the prize money. That’s the reason I do the sport,” said Steve, ranked sixteenth in the world.
“I try every year, really hard, but my name was not on the list yet. But I kept on trying and trying. I didn’t have the best of the week, but today is an amazing day for sure and one to remember for me.
“It’s about 15 or 20 years I come here and I try hard every year. And every year to leave that ring as a loser on Sunday, I feel like I let the people down That class always meant a lot to me. I always thought I would not stop my career until I could put that class on my list. That is one I will remember. Thank you, Dublin.”
On the podium: runner-up Jordan Coyle of Ireland, Steve Guerdat of Switzerland with his trophy and Arne Van Heel of the Netherlands in third.
For his part, Jordan also was pleased, explaining it had been “the best week of my life. I really try every time I come here to do the best I can to entertain everyone and do the best I can, so thank you everyone who supports us and I’ll be back next year.”
Third place went to Arne van Heel of the Netherlands, who had the unenviable position of being first to go in the class. He was also first in the jump-off, as a result, and finished in a respectable 41.47 seconds with Keaton HV. He’s not a household name yet; Arne is number 517 on the ranking list and he has limited 5-star experience, so it’s quite a coup for him to be on the podium in one of the world’s most famous venues.
Noting “It feels incredible,” Arne, a member of the seventh-place Dutch team in the Nations Cup, commented it was “My first time I can ride here. This horse is quite new at this level.so I’m really happy how we did today. She’s amazing.”
And in his view, so was the show: “All the people, the grounds, the atmosphere — just an unbelievable feeling. and hopfully, I can come next year back.”
Dublin showcased a lot of names with which you wouldn’t be familiar. While the oldest rider was 71-year-old John Whitaker of Great Britain, one of the most famous people in the sport, at the other end of the scale, there was 20-year-old Logan Fiechter of the Netherlands, thirtieth in the grand prix on Lieverella. One of the great things about equestrian competition is that there is room for a wide variety of ages and experience.
And it’s interesting to see the new faces who are making their way up the ranks. Finishing just off the podium in fourth was army Lt. Michaeli Byrne, riding the Irish Minister of Defense’s MSH Claregalway. The lieutenant rode sharp and looked sharp in her green uniform. She understandably was a crowd favorite, so look forward to seeing more of her.
Ireland’s Lt. Michaeli Byrne
Click here for results
