Coyle also a five-star winner and World Cup runner-up with “miracle” horse Farrel
Conor Swail was the toast of San Miguel de Allende yesterday, winning both international classes, at five-star and two-star level to bring his tally of victories for the week in Mexico to three.
Two of those were at five-star level and he completed the Grand Prix double into the bargain. The three wins were provided by different horses and a fourth bagged two podiums. It was utter domination.
His close friend, fellow Ulsterman and former protégé Daniel Coyle was in similar form in Upper Marlboro, bagging a five-star win as well as a pair of Grands Prix silver medals, with Shane Sweetnam’s third just behind his Olympic teammate in the World Cup class moving the Cork man to the top of the North American League.
Swail brought a top team to Guanajuato and bagged his first Grand Prix in partnership with Clonterm Obolensky (ISH) on Saturday night Irish time, the duo recording the only double clear of the competition.
They have competed at Nations Cup level and it seemed only a matter of time before their consistency would be translated to a victory of this nature. The 10-year-old, owned by Ollie Glancy and bred by Brian Duff, illustrated his scope and class to jump clear in the opening round of the 1.60m test.
Only two other pairings joined them in the jump-off, with Swail and Obi (above) first to go. The experienced Darragh Cross man used that to his advantage, as he used the grey’s long stride and apart from one little rub in the second part of the combination, they were flawless and quick, posting a time of 43.78 seconds that was sure to ask significant questions of the remaining pair.
They were questions neither John Perez Bohm (COL) with Lareusa S (eight faults) nor Sharn Wordley (NZL) with Brin D’Or De Haute Melen Z (four faults) could answer, forced into errors in attempting to go quicker.
Swail praised his horse later on his social media feed, though he had particular praise for his staff and owners.
“Thank you to Obi but a huge thank you to my team. It’s such an understatement when I say none of this would be possible without you,” said Swail after collecting the $1.5m first prize.
He would conclude the show on Sunday with two victories, first providing the 1-2 in the five-star special two-phase class, taking the win on Glancy’s remarkably reliable Theo 160, who prevailed from his stablemate Casturano (Conall Murray).
Theo is an absolute machine in speed classes, and was winning at international level for the 34th time and 17th in 1.50m competitions. Casturano is more accustomed to big jumping tests so his speed effort of 31.76 was notable indeed.
And though that saw off the rest of the opposition, with Wordley again the best of the rest, this time with Champion League, there was no denying Theo (below after a previous victory, shared with the equally famous Ralphie), who shaved almost a full second off Stan’s best, stopping the timers in 30.81 to take the spoils.
And Swail added a final cherry on top when guiding Nadal Hero & DB to success in the two-star Grand Prix, seeing off 54 other combinations and preventing a home victory, with another very quick double clear.
Nadal has been a revelation this year and once again, with his astute rider steering him well, their jump-off round brooked little argument, as they clocked 37.78 for a second clear, to beat Paola Amilibia Puig (MEX) and Quinley by nine-tenths of a second.
On Thursday, Swail accumulated a couple of strong results with Casturano, to give a hint, perhaps, of what was to come. They began with a fourth-place finish at the opening international class on Wednesday, after a nice double clear in the 1.45m two-phase that served as a lovely arm-up for bigger tests.
Indeed, after a few weeks off, Swail was clearly anxious to blow out a few cobwebs on Stan and they were back to complete the podium in the 1.50m jump-off class, which had 43 contestants, again leaving all the fences intact twice and only a little more than half a second away from victory, which went to Mexico’s Carlos Rodolfo Molina Gordillo, with Kansas Santa Rosa.
The Co Down pilot was back on the podium on Friday with another cash collector, Nadal Hero & DB, third in the two-star 1.45m special two-phase class and rounded out the top five with another of his stars, Theo 160 after having a fence down in the 1.50m jump-off class to miss out on the tiebreaker. That pair would deliver when it counted at the end of the week.
The five-star jumper division kicked off at the 2026 Washington International Horse Show, presented by MARS Equestrian, in ideal fashion for Coyle on Thursday, as the Olympian guided Farrel (Ariel Grange) to top spot in the Welcome Stake (below).
A total of 11 qualified for the tiebreaker after Colm Quinn’s initial test and Farrel’s low centre of gravity proved ideal in the tight and twisty turns on his first indoor outing in many years. His electric time of 35.23 was more than a second clear of Israel’s Mark Bluman, with Landon de Nyze
It was a 23rd FEI ranking win for Farrel, the now 16-year-old that missed four years of action through injury, before a barely credible recovery that has allowed him to enjoy an Indian Summer.
Coyle was understandably overjoyed by his success in a class he has previously won with another Grange-owned legend, his now-retired super mare, Legacy.
“Farrel is so handy in these small arenas, and we haven’t done indoors in a few years like this at the top level, so it’s nice to kick it off with a win,” he acknowledged. “He’s a real partner of mine, and we can go anywhere together.
“Most horses are a lot harder to turn, but with an old partner like this, he already knows if I lean one way, he’s away before me. What makes you fast, especially in a small indoor like this is turning back to the fences. And I think tonight, from the third to the fourth jump, that was a real spot where I earned a lot of time.
“There’s only one way to attack this, and it’s from the beginning and hope I get away with it,” he revealed of his plan. “At least then it gives them something to challenge. Everything came up the way I wanted it to.”
Coyle revealed that winning the FEI Jumping World Cup was a major target and the pair went close to securing the President’s Cup, with the Co Derry athlete feeling like he didn’t make the best of the opportunity, albeit they did come away with the silver medal.
This was five and a half years after Farrel won a World Cup leg in Ocala. The pair, who first joined forces when the gelding was seven, had won a World Cup before that, in Langley, in 2019.
As third pair in the definitive round (above), they made it very interesting with a time of 37.13 thanks to some breathtaking turns but Coyle felt they could have done better and he was proved correct, as Lillie Keenan and Kick On shaved of 0.44 seconds and kept the rails in place to emerge triumphant.
“My plan didn’t go according to plan at all,” admitted Coyle. “Already from the third to fourth jump, I tried to leave in seven strides and didn’t make it, same as Lillie, but also to the last fence. Farrel was very, very handy and very, very fast. I was still quite fast, but I knew I left the door open a little bit.”
It was not long after winning in Ocala that Farrel developed a cyst on his stifle, which shuffled him into a premature retirement. Grange, keen for the gelding to live out his life in comfort, opted for him to have surgery and gradually, the diminutive, spirited winner told them he wasn’t done yet. Having won regularly in the past year or so, and also been part of Ireland’s Aga Khan Cup runner-up team at the RDS this year, he is as competitive as ever.
“He loves the sport more than people. I thought if I could get him back to doing some speed classes, it would be a miracle, but to have him at the top of the sport is unbelievable. I’m really, really lucky to have him.”
With a quick trip after Keenan, Sweetnam slotted into third place with a time of 38.09 seconds on Pia Maria H (above), owned by Sweetnam and Seabrook LLC.
“Even though she’s 11, she’s a green 11, and she didn’t have the kind of mileage that she’s gotten this summer,” said Sweetnam of. “In her development, she’s gotten better and better all year, and she’s jumped in places like Aachen and Dublin. This is probably the first time doing indoors ever in her life, and third in the World Cup is pretty good. I think we’re really making good steps for her, and I’m looking forward to the future.
“I think we’re really making good steps for her and looking toward the future. She’s a real fighter. At times, she’s fighting against you, but in the ring, she’s definitely fighting for you…so we’re just trying to meet halfway and get some good results.”
Sweetnam assumed the lead in the North American League standings after three legs with 32 points. Beat Mändli (SUI) sits second with 25 points, followed by McLain Ward (USA), who has 24 points.
Coyle partnered his Lothlorien patron’s very promising eight-year-old Nord Face to second in the two-star Grand Prix also. There was no matching the 32.22 registered by JJ Torano (USA) with I Am Inge in the jump-off but a fantastic double clear and a speed time of 33.37 was an impressive return.
The Longines Global Champions Tour moved to Cairo and on Friday, Cian O’Connor and Denis Lynch both made the top five in the day’s feature 1.55m jump-off class, the former finishing closest to the medals in fourth with Kentucky TN (Karlswood Partners), with his long-time Ireland teammate in his slipstream with Mr. Newman (Parco Sport Horses).
Only five combinations went clear first time and Lynch, from Tipperary, was posted for fifth place – still €13,600 in prize money – as Mr. Newman had a rail down. O’Connor, the Co Kildare native based for a long time in Co Meath, was just 0.15 seconds shy of Daniel Deusser in third when Kentucky again was blemish-free over the jumps, while victory went to Luxembourg’s Victor Bettendorf, with Encore Toi du Linon.
On Saturday, Bertram Allen grabbed the bronze ribbon in the 1.45m speed class, Aloga Stables’ impressive nine-year-old Huricane de Champloue zipping around the ring in 65.88.
It was a strong effort by the stallion son of Cornet Obolensky and his Wexford connections will have been very pleased to finish so strongly, with victory going to Germany’s Max Weishaupt, with Cosmo von Imhoff.
The Andalucía October Tour kicked off In Vejer de la Frontera and four-star fare began with Frano Derwin, from Co Westmeath, guiding his own Parvati Aeg to fourth.
The recent winners were fast and flawless in Thursday’s 1.50m speed class In the Don Antonio Grass Arena, only eight-hundredths of a second short of the bronze medal and 0.14 shy of second, in a class won comfortably by more than three seconds by Germany’s David Will with the eight-year-old gelding DSP King George.
On Sunday, Co Down athlete Alex Finney guided Newberry Cleverleaf, owned by her mother Jean, to third in the 1.45m speed class, doing fantastically at this level.
The duo were magnificent over the 16 jumping efforts and took some tight turns into the bargain, 69.50 won by Rogier Linssen (NED) and Moneypenny in the Hickstead Grass Arena.
At the two-star show in Tryon, North Carolina, Kilkenny rider Richie Moloney and Daisycutter (Equinimity) secured top honours in Friday’s 1.45m Speed Stake, being one of only two pairings to manage to leave all the obstacles intact and of those, being almost five seconds quicker, stopping the clock in 74.07 to cruise to victory.
Sentower Park in Belgium transitioned to indoor fare last week and Michael Duffy posted an impressive double clear with Camina Z (Sportpferde Kuck Gb R) to garner runner-up prize money in the Grand Prix at the two-star show on Sunday, guiding the nine-year-old to a time of 38.30 in the decisive round.
That was enough to see off four of the other five returning combos, but finding just one too good in Wilm Vermeir (BEL) and Jonkheer Van’T Veldhoven.
On Sunday In Liège, a pair of Duffy’s fellow Galwegians filled two of the three podium berths in two-star Grand Prix.
Loughrea’s Daniel McAlinden and Count Mein (Jersey Kuijpers & Sea Horse) were third with a double clear and jump-off time of 37.01 but Athenry pilot Thomas O’Brien and Vario 7 (Yvette O’Brien) were much quicker, stopping the clock in 34.90, which was just a quarter of a second off the time set by Belgium’s Lauranne Spits, with Sjefke van d’Abelendreef.
BREEDING
CLONTERM OBOLENSKY (ISH) – 2016 stallion by Cornet Obolensky (BWP) out of She Has The Lux (ISH) by Lux Z (HANN). Breeder: Brian Duff, Ashbourne, Co. Meath. Owner: Oliver Raymond Glancy. Rider: Conor Swail (IRL).
Photo credits
Conor Swail: Otomi Grand Prix/Oscar Mujica
Daniel Coyle/Shane Sweetnam: Erin Gilmore Photography, except for Coyle and Farrel in the Grand Prix which is FEI/Shannon Brinkman