Legacy’s brilliance earns breeder top honours at 2024 WBFSH Breeder Awards

Daniel Coyle and Legacy during the jumping team final at the Château de Versailles during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Legacy, one of the standout horses of the Irish Nations Cup and Olympic season, has been honoured at this year’s WBFSH Breeder Awards.

The mount of Daniel Coyle and owned by Ariel Grange, Legacy has enjoyed an exceptional year, which included back-to-back victories at FEI Jumping World Cup events in Leipzig and Amsterdam, a feat that had not been accomplished since 2015.

Her breeder, Romain Rotty from Budingen, Belgium, won the Jumping Breeder Award of 2024 for the exceptional Zangersheide mare. Partnered by Derryman Coyle, Legacy has consistently demonstrated her excellence on the international jumping stage.

They jumped three clear rounds at the Paris Olympics and helped Ireland to Longines League of Nations success, with series table-topping Ireland ultimately finishing fourth in the inaugural final in Barcelona earlier this month.

Her performances in Ocala, Rotterdam and Barcelona earned Grange the ‘Owner of the Best Horse’ award and also earned Legacy the ‘Best Horse’ title for the season.

Describing Legacy’s Olympic performance, Coyle said: “She’s in the prime of her life. Everything she’s done for me already is incredible, but she keeps surprising us with her brilliance.”

Legacy’s consistent success and Coyle’s skilled riding have firmly established them as one of the most formidable pairs in world jumping.