World Cup success is nothing new for Daniel Coyle, but he reached another milestone Sunday—a fitting St. Patrick’s Day victory for the Irishman—at the Live Oak International (Florida) when he topped the $200,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Ocala aboard his new mount, Incredible.

“I’ve had a really, really good experience with the World Cup already, but I think this is the first year I’ve ever won three [in one season], so I’m really, really happy about that,” he said.

Coyle, a veteran of the 2023 World Cup Finals in Omaha, changed up his routine this year and elected to divide his season between the North American and Western European Leagues. Aboard his championship mount Legacy, in January he won back-to-back WEL legs in Leipzig, Germany, and Amsterdam. He then made it three-in-a-row when returning stateside for the final NAL leg of the season with Incredible, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Clinton—Unbelievable, Hearthbreaker) he purchased with Ariel Grange and only started riding in January.

“Every time I go in the ring, I’m finding something new [in Incredible]. It’s great that I can find that out while competing at the top of the sport,” Coyle said. “He was incredible before I got him, and it’s good to know that I was a good rider before, he was a good horse before, and today I can say that we are also very good together.”

Germany’s Olaf Petersen Jr. set a stiff track in Ocala, characterized by its connectedness and uniquely designed fences. Just four combinations were able to execute a clear round and advance to a competitive jump-off, with U.S. riders Kent Farrington and Jessica Leto joining Coyle and fellow Irishman Dermott Lennon.

Leto and Lennon each had a rail before Farrington brought forward the athletic mare Toulayna as the penultimate combination. The pair executed the first double-clear effort of the day, taking the lead with a time of 42.58 seconds thanks to an efficient track and some impressive turns. 

That left only Coyle to jump, and he had a target to chase. He and Incredible displayed full trust in each other as they dared to gallop at high speed around the short course. They flew through the timers well in front, with a winning time of 40.37 seconds. 

Watch the jump-off round that won Coyle and Incredible the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Ocala by nearly 2 seconds, courtesy of FEI.tv:

“I didn’t get to see anyone else go. The six [strides] down the first line got very long for me, but that probably made the whole ride faster,” Coyle said. “He jumped a little high coming in [to the double], and that’s something I need to know going forward. [Then] I was really risky back to the second-last [fence]. Thankfully, he helped me out there, and at the last fence, he gave me a great jump. I’m delighted.”

Coyle’s mentor, Dutch Olympic and world champion Jeroen Dubbeldam, scouted Incredible for Coyle, who was looking to add a horse to his string to support Legacy at the top of the sport. Incredible had produced some nice results with Eric Ten Cate of the Netherlands, jumping strong rounds throughout the Longines European Equestrian Federation Series.

“[Incredible] wasn’t so much in the spotlight. He had already done some Nations Cup [events] and done some really good things, but his rider didn’t get the chance to go to the big shows every week,” Coyle said. “Jeroen said, ‘We should try him.’ Immediately we saw that he would fit with us, and he could really help Legacy. He has done that and more.

“I’m really, really happy,” he added. “I have somebody like Ariel [Grange] who can step up and buy the horses and somebody like Jeroen as a mentor who can actually find the horses for me. “It’s hard to scout horses when you’re concentrating on riding the horses that you have…We have a really good team right now.”

Coyle ends the season atop the NAL standings with 75 points. Israel’s Daniel Bluman sits second with 43 points, while Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam has secured third with 41 points. The 2024 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final takes place April 16-20 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

See compete results here.