CO DOWN’S Conor Swail maintained his superb run of results, with a double of wins at the four-star meeting at Palm Beach in Florida last weekend, bringing his total number of international wins this season to an incredible 24 ranking classes.

Boosted by one of his best seasons since his career began, Swail has now set his sights on joining fellow Irish rider Bertram Allen in the world’s top 10.

Currently ranked at number 37, Swail said: “I’d really like to get into the top 10 in the world. It’s a pretty big goal, but I feel like that’s where I need to be. I know that what I need to do is get a few bigger Grand Prix wins this year. I think I have enough ranking class wins, and it’s time to focus on getting good results in those bigger classes. I don’t think I could have had a better start than tonight,” he said. “I want to focus on improving those results so that’s kind of what the main goal is right now. We have some very nice horses, and we’re looking forward to another great go at it this season.”

Swail’s first win of the weekend came in last Saturday’s $212,000 Holiday and Horses Grand Prix, where he partnered the 10-year-old mare Viva Colombia. They were one of eight combinations to make the jump-off out of a start-list of 32.

Second-last to go in the decider, the pair left everything intact and clipped over a quarter of a second off the lead time of Mexican Eugenio Garza on Bariano to claim top spot. “She’s just getting better and better,” said Swail of Viva Columbia who is by Couleur-Rubin out of a Lando dam.

“A good friend of mine, Ilan Ferder, owns her and I’ve had a really good year with her. I thought tonight she was just wonderful and jumped great in the first round. Things worked out for me in the second round with Samuel [Parot] and Kent [Farrington] being a bit unlucky but for me it felt like we were going to be close and I wanted to go for it.”

American Hardin Towell gave the host nation a place on the podium by finishing third riding New York.

Swail felt the course was well-suited for his mare, even though the track proved difficult for many of the night’s competitors. He elaborated: “I thought the course looked quite nice when we walked it and it wasn’t so big, but it was extremely careful and there was a bit of width on the oxers. In that respect, you needed a really good horse to jump around it.”

Swail will now give his string a rest before looking towards the commencement of the Winter Equestrian Festival circuit in just a few short weeks.

“She’ll get a nice break. She deserves it. We probably won’t bring her out again until week four or five during circuit. It’s been great to finish the way we have with her and she’s just fantastic. We have a real quality horse on our hands.”

SECOND WIN

Swail added a second win to his weekend haul, when he took last Sunday evenings $34,000 class at Palm Beach riding Cita. He was double handed in the 13 horse jump-off but lowered one fence against the clock with his first mount, Martha Louise, with whom he finished ninth.

A home win was on the cards when American Ali Wolff held the lead on Brianda, going clear in a time of 36.868.

Swail was third-last to go with his second mount Cita, who is by Casall out of a Vorr dam and is owned by Susan and Ariel Grange. A superb effort saw him shave a 10th of a second off the target, a time of 36.726 proving good enough for victory.

“It feels truly great to win two big FEI classes in a row. I had three great horses here this week. This one is still a bit new for us. She’s just nine and I think this is only her sixth or seventh show with me so far this year,” explained Swail. “She has a lot of quality, and I think she has really a lot to offer. I’m hoping that by the end of circuit this year, near April, she’ll be doing some of the bigger Grand Prix classes.”

“I think she’s going to be really special. She’s unbelievably careful, and is just a feather off the ground. She really has a lot of blood, but just needs a bit more experience. It was really nice for her to run around and do a great job today,” he said.

POSITIVE

Piloting his second mount, Martha Louise, also owned by Susan & Ariel Grange, to a top 10 finish, Swail concluded his final competition of the year on an incredibly positive note, as he believes the pieces are finally falling into place with the beginning of a new year approaching quickly.

“Martha had a lovely round today also. I felt like she was just a tad unlucky this week but jumped beautifully in all of the classes. It’s a great way to end as this is our last show of the year, and I’m so pleased that it went as well as it could have gone for us,” noted Swail. “I’m quite lucky that I have such a good group of horses around me now. We have a few nice new ones coming up and are always looking for carefulness, blood, and quality. We try to find the good athletes, as that’s what you need in the sport today. I have great owners behind me and have a lot to look forward to as we move into another year. I think over the next few years, we’re going to create something really positive.”