The ninth week of the 2018 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) began on Wednesday, March 7, with a FEI ranking class victory for Daniel Coyle of Ireland at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL.

The ninth week of competition at WEF runs March 7-11. Jumper highlights include the $132,000 Equinimity WEF Challenge CSI5* on Thursday, March 8, the $384,000 Douglas Elliman Real Estate Grand Prix CSI5* beginning at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 10, and the $50,000 Rose Hill Farm Grand Prix CSI2* on Sunday, March 11. Hunter highlights include the $5,000 USHJA Pony Hunter Derby on Friday, March 9, and the $10,000 USHJA National Derby on Saturday, March 10; both events will be held on the grass derby field at Equestrian Village (home of the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival – 13500 South Shore Blvd.). WEF hosts hunter, jumper, and equitation competition until April 1 and offers more than $9 million in prize money.

In the $35,000 Douglas Elliman 1.45m Jumpers CSI5*, Daniel Coyle, 23, and Tienna, a ten-year-old Canadian Sport Horse mare by For Pleasure x Polydox owned by Ariel Grange, were fastest for victory. They completed the power and speed format course, designed by Ireland’s Alan Wade, who will also course design for the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon this September.

Coyle and Tienna finished the second half of the course in 28.50 seconds for victory. They just pipped Shane Sweetnam (IRL) and Cyklon 1083, owned by Spy Coast Farm LLC, who had the previous leading time of 28.70 seconds. Close behind was Santiago Lambre (MEX), who rode his own Doloris to third place in 29.04 seconds and was fourth on Integrated Services Florida LLC’s D’Artagnan in 29.52 seconds.

“She’s a homebred, which makes it a little more special for Ariel and the farm,” said Coyle of the mare he previously rode in Under 25 competitions. “She’s always been one of my favorites. To get a win here today, and it was very competitive, there was very little room for any mistakes. There was no real difference at the top.”

Having moved the mare up to the grand prix ranks recently, Coyle has had to adjust to Tienna’s way of going.

He said, “She’s a chestnut mare, and one thing I’ve found out that I should have known already is that she’s a typical chestnut mare. She really likes to go her own way. If you get involved with her way of going too much, she really doesn’t like it. If that’s way she likes to go and the way she likes to win, then of course, that’s it.”

Source: Press release from Equestrian Sport Productions // Picture © Sportfot