‘It was a risk to bring her’: mare turns form around to soar to the top on opening day of European Showjumping Championships

A risk paid off for Daniel Coyle as he sits in the top spot with Legacy at the end of the opening day of the Longines FEI European Showjumping Championships.

Daniel and the superstar mare, whom he owns with Ariel Grange, were the fourth Irish combination to jump and the pair soared into the lead.

Daniel and 15-year-old Legacy are competing for Ireland as individuals, but owing to recent form Daniel said it had been “a risk” to take the experienced mare to Spain.

“I said to Michael Blake I think she will be good here, but it was a risk to bring her, even as an individual because her form hasn’t been great. She’s had a fence down here or there,” said Daniel.

“After the Paris Olympics she did nothing, then she was double clear at Barcelona at the Nations Cup Final and was brilliant there. She had a huge break after that, which she deserved. We’re now trying to pick and choose what is the right thing to do with her.”

Daniel said with this in mind, he might not continue throughout the competition.

“Unless we’re in gold medal position all the way, she’s already done all these championships and I want to try and see whatever is still in there for the next thing. If it’s not possible for a medal we will drop out,” he said.

Daniel said jumping as an individual means that “you have to take risks”.

“When it’s for the team, yes, you go as quick as you can, but you’re a little more careful, because you don’t want to waste it for the team as well. So it’s a bit easier for me,” he said.

“It was a good course, it was not overly big and for the first day of the championships, I think it’s right on.”

Ireland’s team performance at the European Showjumping Championships

Denis Lynch got Ireland’s team hopes off to a good start with a clear aboard 12-year-old Vistogrand, whom he owns with Tipperary’s Finest Est. They sit 20th at the end of the opening day.

“The horse has always been a very, very good horse for us, since 2023 he’s been part of a winning team. He did exactly what we thought he was going to do and he was nice and relaxed,” he said.

“We didn’t want to do the inside turnback into the wall today, we just wanted to get a nice run under his belt and I think he came out of there feeling very good.”

Seamus Hughes Kennedy also posted a clear, with his family’s ESI Rocky, on the pair’s championship debut, to lie in 18th.

“It’s good to get the first day out of the way,” said Seamus.

“Rocky was very good, sometimes to go quick the first day is a bit different to what I’m used to with him, I’d usually try to keep him altogether but I thought I was able to move him up enough. I think Santiago did a fantastic job with the course and I think Rocky handled it all very well.”

Betram Allen was third to jump for the team with Qonquest de Rigo, and came home with four-faults having knocked the big orange upright at fence 10. They sit in 49th.

Bertram described it as “a bit of a ropey start”, putting the mistake down to Qonquest de Rigo’s inexperience in one-round speed classes.

“It didn’t go as smooth as I’d have liked. I knew I was going to struggle a bit today. But he’s jumping fantastic, and hopefully he can do a good job over the next two days,” said Bertram.

“He’s jumping great but just sometimes struggled a little bit of connection. He’s a green horse, and there’s no hiding place in there with 14 jumps and everything, so you need to be on it everywhere. We were just one tick away from it today.”

Qonquest de Rigo is still a relatively new horse for Bertram, he took on the ride from Tom Verduyn in October 2024.

“I saw him as an eight-year-old last year jumping a national class in Belgium and we bought him. We took our time and then he really stepped up in Florida this year and got a bit of experience jumping some grands prix,” he said.

“He’s been very good since Florida, this is obviously a whole different step again. But we have a great team feeling, everybody is pulling together. The two boys are great, and Daniel has gone into the lead so the vibe is good.”

Darragh Kennedy was last to go for Ireland with Carol Sollak’s 13-year-old gelding Eddy Blue. The pair knocked the same fence of Bertram and Qonquest de Rigo, when they appeared to have a miscommunication on take-off. They lie in 37th at the conclusion of the opening day of the European Showjumping Championships.

The scores will now be converted into penalties ahead of the first round of the team competition tomorrow. The top 10 teams and top 50 individuals will jump on Friday, when the team medals will be decided, and the top 25 will contest the individual final on Sunday.

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