The British moved ahead ahead in the team competition as the Longines European Show Jumping Championships got under way in Spain Wednesday, but it was Daniel Coyle of Ireland who was at the head of the class individually with Lothlorien Farm’s Legacy.
Daniel Coyle and Legacy at the European Championships (FEI/Benjamin Clark)
However, after his victory in the first leg, Daniel decided not to continue on Thursday.
“She’s already done all these championships and I want to try and see whatever is still in there for the next thing,” he said. Her form had not been consistent recently, so he was not part of the Irish team.
The way it worked over the 1.50-meter route laid out by 2024 Olympic co-course designer Santiago Varela Ullastres, who tested speed and handiness, four seconds were added for having a fence down. Scores are multiplied by a coefficient of 0.5 to give everyone a starting penalty. The leader in the individual contest, is on zero and the others are tagged with the difference in penalties between their score and the leader at Casas Novas in A Coruña.
” The plan was coming here with her coming into form and it looks like that happened. She’s a fantastic mare,” said Daniel, who is a co-owner of the horse.
Just behind Daniel’s tally with a mere 0.01 penalties was Germany’s Richie Vogel on United Touch S and now the leader, followed by Donald Whitaker of Great Britain with Millfield Colette, 0.67. Daniel was clocked in 73.93 seconds, a mere 0.03 ahead of Richie. Donald’s time was 75.27, leaving him with 0.67 penalties.
Donald noted of his mare, “It always feels amazing when you ride her because she goes in there like a panther, she knows what she’s doing and she wants to win – I think almost more than I do.”
He is very proud of being on the British squad, noting, “The team element to it is massive because you’ve got the likes of Scott Brash and Ben Maher, who have literally done everything in the sport, and they’re on your team. So you have to get your chest out a little bit and make sure you don’t make a mistake,” he explained.
“Obviously, you don’t want to disappoint them, but it’s also a good feeling of representing your country.”
Donald’s team is on 3.96 penalties, with only the best three scores counting. Hard to believe that three-time Olympic medalist Ben Maher had the drop score with Dallas Vegas Batilly. Second on 4.19 is the German powerhouse of current Olympic gold medalist Christian Kukuk, Sophie Hinners and veteran Marcus Ehning. Belgium is third with 4.61.
Click here for individual standings after Wednesday (and remember Daniel Coyle has dropped out.) Click here for team rankings.