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The 73rd edition of CHIO Rotterdam concluded on Sunday with an Irish victory in the prestigious CSIO5* 1.60m Longines Grand Prix of Rotterdam, as Daniel Coyle and Oak Grove's Carlyle took the top honours. 

"To be honest, before the class I had a conversation with Kevin [Jochems] and we weren't the most hopeful, but we were really wanting to do well," the slightly surprised winner told the press after his victory. "I am delighted Kevin is sitting next to me here, in that position. To win was quite incredible for me today." 

The 1.60m course set by Quintin Maertens (NED) and Louis Konicxk (NED) saw faults pile up on the tulip vertical-oxer-vertical triple combination at fence number four, on the rollback to a wall at fence eight, as well on the Longines oxer-vertical combination at fence ten, where the oxer had a plank as the front pole. The course that counted 13 obstacles and 16 efforts ended with a line of a liverpool oxer, followed by a liverpool upright and a forward distance to the very last fence, a massive Longines oxer. 

As the pathfinders in round one, Ioli Mytilineou (GRE) and L’artiste de Toxandra (Toulon x Kashmir van Schuttershof) posted a beautiful clear, and when Douglas Lindelöw (SWE) on Cheldon (Chacco-Blue x Baloubet du Rouet) followed suit, a jump-off was secured. In the end, a total of 14 horse-and-rider combinations cleared the first-round track as Olivier Philippaerts (BEL) on Le Blue Diamond v’T Ruytershof (Plot Blue x Diamant de Semilly), Kevin Staut (FRA) on Bond Jamesbond de Hay (Diamant de Semilly x Kannan), Lars Kersten (NED) on Emmerton (Silvio I x Sam R), Julien Epaillard (FRA) on Caracole de la Roque (Zandor Z x Kannan), Piergiorgio Bucci (ITA) on Cochello (Casall x Cartani 4), Patrick Lemmen (NED) on Exit Remo (San Remo x Ferro), Pieter Devos (BEL) on Nascar van’T Siamshof (Emilion x Voltaire), Kevin Jochems (NED) on Cornetboy (Cornet’s Stern x Colander), Hessel Hoekstra (NED) on Ixion VDL (VDL Bubalu x Cardento), Grégory Cottard (FRA) on Bibici (Norman Pre Noir x Nelfo du Mesnil), Marcel Marschall (GER) on Coolio (Casalito x Quidam de Revel) and Daniel Coyle (IRL) on Oak Grove’s Carlyle (Casall x San Patrignano Corrado) all joined Mytilineou and Lindelöw for the jump-off. 

In the jump-off, only the top seven posted a double clear result. In-form Julien Epaillard stopped the clock on 37.49 seconds with a round that left the door slightly open, and with the fully seated Kralingse Bos cheering them on, home hero Kevin Jochems and Cornetboy crossed the finish line in 37.20 and took over the lead. However, as the last man out in the jump-off, Daniel Coyle on Oak Grove's Carlyle had a different plan: Leaving a stride out from one to two with a maximum risk, slowing down for the twists and turns of the shortened jump-off track but accelerating on each straight line, the Irish raced to the final Longines vertical – and took the win in the Longines Grand Prix of Rotterdam when the clock stopped on 36.69, pushing Jochems to second and Epaillard to third, while Patrick Lemmen on Exit Remo placed fourth and Grégory Cottard on Bibici fifth. 

Coyle's ride, the 14-year-old gelding Oak Grove's Carlyle has previously been successfully campaigned by Sweden's Rolf-Göran Bengtsson as well as the Netherland's Jeroen Dubbeldam. "This horse, so many good riders also had him, and he decides what he likes and what he does not like," Coyle pointed out. "I jumped him here on Thursday and had the last fence down, and it is not always I jump a Grand Prix with him. He went very well on Thursday, so I decided to do the Grand Prix on him this weekend and see how we would get on. You don't always know what you are going to get with him, but I got his all today." 

"Jeroen still helps with all of my horses, and I am extremely privileged to have that," Coyle continued, explaining how Carlyle's previous rider has helped him figure out the gelding. "I don't think I could have anyone better to help me; Jeroen is the person who has taught me to assess the horse a little bit more. It is not that I ride him better, it is just that we have found a way that works." 

Second placed Kevin Jochems was also full of praise for his little horse, a fairly new ride for the Dutchman. "It still hurts a little bit, but I should be very, very pleased," Jochems smiled. "I have only had this horse for a few months. We jump our first five-star show, the first five-star Grand Prix, and to do it here in front of a home crowd and be double clear, I am very happy." 

"I tried to do my best in the jump-off, but I think I lost a little bit of time at the second last fence, Kevin was quicker there and Daniel doing six from one to two was a big risk – they were better today," third placed Julien Epaillard, who topped Saturday's CSIO5* 1.50m Severs Breeman Prize with Donatello d'Auge, said. "However, I am really happy with my mare." 

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