Ireland’s Daniel Coyle and Fortis Fortuna win the $100,000 Prix De Penn National. Al Cook alcookphoto.com
Harrisburg, PA – October 22, 2016 — Daniel Coyle of Ireland capped off a great week at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show Presented by the Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund with a thrilling win on Fortis Fortuna, owned by Susan and Ariel Grange, in the $100,000 Prix De Penn National Presented by the Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund.
Presentation of awards to Daniel Coyle and Fortis Fortuna. Al Cook Photo
After placing second the previous two nights in the horse show’s first two FEI 3* classes, Coyle, riding eighth of 10 in the jump-off, blazed over the Bernardo Cabral-designed course and finished clean in 33.63 seconds on his 11-year-old, Belgian-bred mare to claim the win. Placing second was local hero Callan Solem of Chester Springs, PA, who had taken the lead from Ilan Bluman of Colombia with a clean ride in 35.44 seconds on VDL Wizard, owned by Horseshoe Trail Farm, LLC. Bluman, first up in the jump-off, finished third with a clean round in 36.13 seconds on Ladriano Z, owned by Blue Star Investments.
Callan Solem with VDL Wizard. Al Cook Photo
“I saw Ilan’s run and it was good and fast,” Coyle said. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure that I was going to be any faster. I had a plan to be as fast as I could and if that turned out to be good enough then it would be good; it was all I could do.
“This is my first time here and it is a brilliant show. I love the crowd’s reaction and I love that they really try to make it exciting for us. I like the show and I will definitely be back!”
Ilan Bluman and Ladriano Z. Al Cook Photo
Solem was happy with Wizard’s performance and noted, “Daniel didn’t just edge us out, he crushed us! I am so fortunate to have Wizard. I’ve been doing this a lot longer than Daniel and to have a horse like Wizard is really very special for me. I’ve had a lot of generous horses but never one as capable as him so I am very thankful.”
After beating Coyle the previous two nights, defending champion Leslie Burr-Howard had two rails in the first round on Gentille Van Spieveld and finished 16th with eight faults. “Leslie was very mean to me the last two nights and I felt I could only let her get away with it for so long,” Coyle quipped. “Honestly, she is a great rider, as are Callan and Ilan, and I really couldn’t be happier to have won this class here tonight!”
Full results of the Pennsylvania National Horse Show can be found on the show’s website www.panational.org or at http://ryegate.com/SHOWS/PNHS/