Ireland’s Jordan Coyle recorded the biggest win of his career today when he topped a two-horse jump-off with the ten year-old Eristov to win the US$100,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup class at Leon in Mexico, the newest leg on the North American League.

Coyle, 25, and the Dutch Warmblood gelding had the disadvantageous position of having to jump first over Brazilian course builder Anderson Lima’s shortened track at the Leon Equestrian Club.

However, after crossing the timers in 40.37 seconds, they put the pressure on Mexico’s Salvador Onate and Big Red, who were fresh off a win in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup in Guadalajara just two weeks prior. That pair settled for second with their 41.96-second clear round. Mexico’s Federico Fernandez and Davidoff finished third, having recorded just a single time fault in the first round of the four-star competition.

“My horse is naturally very fast,” Coyle said. “Going first, I wasn’t sure what to do, as I’m new to the Mexican show circuit. I went as fast as I could go, and it worked.”

Clear rounds were hard to come by in the first round, as Coyle didn’t crack the code to a faultless performance until more than half the class had jumped. Even an increase in the time allowed from 79 to 81 seconds only benefited runner-up Onate; Coyle was the only competitor to jump the first round cleanly and within the original time allowed.

-Jack Burns