THERE were five Irish riders on the winning men’s team in Saturday night’s $75,000 Battle of the Sexes at the first ‘Saturday Night Lights’ of the 2020 Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida.

Ireland’s David Blake, Jonathan Corrigan, Christian Coyle, Daniel Coyle and Jordan Coyle all lined out for the winners, who were successful for the second time in three years.

It was Daniel Coyle who sealed victory for the boys when second last to go on the borrowed horse Black Pearl, owned by Tori Corts, leaving the final score at 29 points for the men, ahead of 23 for the women.

“The one thing that you get in these classes, that you don’t always get in other classes, is the crowd really enjoys it because it’s very easy for them to understand; the girl beats the guy, and that’s who wins it,” said Daniel Coyle afterwards.

Daniel was a last-minute add to the men’s team after his brother and teammate, Jordan, convinced him. “He told me we could win it this year, so he found me a horse. When I went in for the match race, Charlie said, ‘I don’t have to go if you can win it!’ That’s the last thing that you want to hear, but I can only say good things about this horse [Black Pearl], and thankfully we won it!”

Sweetnam victory

Cork’s Shane Sweetnam opened the 2020 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) with a victory in the $8,000 Douglas Elliman Real Estate 1.45m at Palm Beach International Equestrian Centre last Wednesday.

Riding the eight-year-old Zangersheide mare Zandora, Sweetnam was double-clear over the two-phase course in 32.48 seconds. Canada’s Kelly Soleau-Millar finished runner-up when just fractions slower in 32.956 seconds riding Favoriet U.

Sligo’s Darragh Kerins finished in sixth place with a double clear round in 37.65 seconds aboard NRG Farms LLC’s Carlos JD Z.

Zandora Z is a newer mount for Sweetnam after joining his string at the end of the summer and stepping into the bigger classes at the conclusion of 2019.

“She has some experience to gain, but she has a lot of ability,” said Sweetnam of the mare who was previously campaigned at two-star level by Brazilian rider Nando de Miranda.

“She’s naturally very quick, so like today in the second phase, you don’t feel like you’re going that fast but have a good time. She can be very competitive, and she feels like she has a lot of scope, so we will see where she goes with a bit of experience.”

Of his return to the Winter Equestrian Festival and his seasonal home base in Wellington, Sweetnam said: “It’s nice to start with a win obviously! They have done a great job with the footing and the jumps look really fresh, so my fingers are crossed for a good circuit.

“If some of my more experienced horses can get some good results in the bigger classes I’ll be happy. Then, I have a few newer, younger ones like this mare that are going to step up and hopefully be ready for a good year.”