Daniel Coyle

Based in America with a Canadian owner, the Irish showjumper is juggling a top-flight career on both sides of the Atlantic with a young family. Nancy Jaffer finds out how

THE pursuit of a ticket to compete at Paris 2024 requires Olympic-level logistics as well as talent. For Irish showjumper Daniel Coyle, he is leaving no stone unturned as he juggles competing in the US and Europe, with horses based in various parts of the world. North America, Canada, the Netherlands and Ireland have all played a part in Daniel’s recent itinerary, to enable each horse at each stage of their career to flourish.

Like many of his compatriots, Daniel used to make his mark in Florida at Wellington’s Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). But this year, he spent most of the winter about three hours north of there in Ocala at the World Equestrian Center (WEC) and the Live Oak show, where he won the Longines FEI World Cup qualifier with Incredible. His employer Ariel Grange precipitated the change.

“Ariel said to me, ‘We’re going to buy a farm in Ocala and move up to Ocala,’” he explains during a chat after a class at WEC in the shadow of its massive five-star hotel.

“In the beginning, I was a little sceptical,” he concedes. “Right now, I’m really happy she did. The young horses are jumping bigger and better already and are more relaxed here than they’ve ever been.”

There has been a lot of recent discussion about the crowded conditions at Wellington International, the home of WEF, and the issue has become quite controversial since the showgrounds were put up for sale this year. Daniel cites several reasons for success in Ocala, where there is much more open space than in Wellington.