An Irish triumph was more than luck

Partnered with three exceptional horses, Irish riders took complete possession of the podium at the Winter Equestrian Festival’s weekend feature, the $385,000 Fidelity Investments 5-star Grand Prix.

Winner Darragh Kenny was aboard the 14-year-old Holsteiner Amsterdam 27, “an absolutely incredible horse, the most talented animal I’ve ever sat on.”

Citing the fact that the horse is endowed with quality, as well as being scopey and smart, Darragh said, “I think he has the ability to win anything, I’ve just got to stay out of his way and let him do his thing.”

The gelding (CatokiXAccord II), ridden earlier in his career by Canada’s Mario Deslauriers, was out of action for months with an injury, but made an amazing comeback that wasn’t predicted. Darragh thanked the owner, Teddy Vlock, also a former rider of Amsterdam, for keeping the horse for him.

Runner-up Cian O’Connor rode Pat Crean’s Maurice (Thunder VD ZuuthoeveXEros Platiere), a 12-year-old Belgian warmblood the horseman first spotted with a Turkish rider at the European Show Jumping Championships last year.

Jordan Coyle took third place with Falkirk Farm’s For Gold (For FashionXHeraldik), a 13-year-old Holsteiner he adores.

“I’ve never had a horse ever like this,” he explained.

When asked if he loves the horse more than his wife, Kim—as she suggested—Jordan grinned and replied, “it is possible.”

He’s got a sense of humor, that Jordan. Responding to Cian’s comment during the prizegiving that it was fantastic to have three Irishmen on the podium, Jordan turned in his inimitable way and said, “Yeah. Pity about the order…”.

There were several things that made the Irish domination of the class particularly noteworthy in the triumph before a standing-room-only crowd of more than 7,000 at Wellington International in Palm Beach County, Fla.

Foremost was the fact that course designer Gregory Bodo also will be doing the routes at the Paris Olympics, and of course, all three Irishmen hope to be on their country’s team there this summer.

Second was the fact that such great riders as 2021 Olympic champion Ben Maher of Great Britain, ranked world number two, didn’t make the jump-off on Dallas Vegas Batilly. Ditto the USA’s McLain Ward, world number eight, on Contagious. They lost their bid for what became a six-horse jump-off when they each had a knockdown at the tenth fence, a troublesome oxer flanked by outlandish pink fans, which also ruined other potentially clear rounds.

“It’s a great result for all the Irish riders,” said Darragh.

“We work very hard when we’re here; we try very hard to win always. Tonight really showed we can do it when we need to. Everybody’s very motivated. The Olympics in Paris is going to be an amazing thing, we all want to go. I think you see the competition here is pretty hard. It’s at the highest level it’s been for the last couple of years.”

Although the Irish have filled the podium several times at Dublin, it’s still rare to find them completely dominant.

“To see the Irish doing so well, it’s good, it’s a big Irish community (in the Wellington area) obviously,” Cian mentioned.

The Irish contingent had the only fault-free rounds in a six-horse jump off, where the clockings got faster and faster. Darragh was next-to-last in the order and looked at what Cian had done in the previous round on his trip around the shortened course.

He didn’t match him stride-for-stride, but Amsterdam’s scope enabled him to produce a ground-saving tight turn at the orange and white Hermes oxer at the end of the ring. That helped make Darragh’s time of 38.66 seconds the best so far, edging Cian’s 39.36 seconds and Jordan’s 39.69.

But formidable speedster Kent Farrington had the advantage of being last to go on the fleet Greya, and he tore into the course. That got him a time of 38.53, which would have done the trick—except that a rail down put the World Number four in fourth place.

After hearing the Irish national anthem played for him and his compatriots, Darragh thought back on his round and mused, “I think really I could have done one less to the last (fence), but luckily enough, Kent had one down today.”

Sometimes things just work out.

I asked the course designer if the riders should think their experience in the grand prix would help prepare them for Paris if they make their Olympic teams.

Speaking in French, because he’s more comfortable in that language than English, he replied through a translator, “I did not come to prepare the riders, I just came to do what I do usually, enjoy the sun and make some top-level courses.” That answer got a laugh, of course.

So next I tried a question for the riders, wondering if they felt they had gotten a handle on what the designer does, with an eye toward Paris.

Darragh explained he and Cian have jumped Gregory’s courses before, so they have an idea of his style.

“He builds very technical, very delicate, very much about the rider and how they ride. He built an excellent course tonight, six clears out of 40. He did a fantastic job. The last line was delicate, difficult; but if you rode it really well, you jumped it clear.”

Cian offered a spot-on description of the designer’s technique, “He has an amazing way to use the ring differently than any other course builder. Where he places the jumps, he always puts 1-2 in an unusual place, it’s not just a regular number, like seven strides. It’s unusual angles…(it) has a different flow to it, his bends and turns are sharper. Whether he’s meaning to show us what might be coming up (at the Olympics) or not, I think it’s his style that’s wonderful to practice over.”

As a photographer, I encountered something new with Gregory’s course. It was hard to get my usual angles for shots and have a direct line to capture more than two fences. It was exactly as Cian described the layout, with fences using every part of the ring.

The quality of the designer, the riders and the horses certainly made for a wonderful class, the type that is done so well at WEF. The excitement of the crowd, the presentation of the ring, the vibe around the showgrounds all contributed to yet another memorable competition. It’s a tradition that goes back decades, to the time when WEF was a pioneer of what would become the country’s biggest show circuit.

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