Tag Archives: Leslie Burr Howard

Coyle Wins His First FEI Class with CHS Krooze in Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake CSI 3*

Daniel Coyle and CHS Krooze ©Sportfot.

Mill Spring, NC – October 10, 2019 – Daniel Coyle (IRL) and CHS Krooze flew to the $36,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake CSI 3* win at Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) at Tryon Resort, stopping the jump-off timers in a time of 33.448 seconds. Three seconds behind in second place, Kristen VanderVeen (USA) piloted Bull Run’s Almighty, a 2009 Hannoverian gelding (Caspar x Quidam De Revel) owned by Bull Run Jumpers Six LLC, to a 36.552-second jump-off performance, while Rachel Cornacchia (CAN) and Eventyre Farms Ltd’s Valkyrie de Talma, a 2009 Selle Francais mare (Diamant De Semilly x Cento), claimed third with a time of 36.568 seconds over the short course.

A field of 76 entries competing over the Michel Vaillancourt (CAN) course design and 21 pairs qualifying for the jump-off made for stiff competition, causing six pairs to withdraw in advance of the second round. Coyle’s strategy was to go as fast as possible as the first rider to test the short course with his own 2010 Irish Sport Horse mare (Kroongraaf x Cruise Oak):

“There were still a good few clears for the jump-off, and I was first. So, I had to be as fast as possible. Luckily, that horse is incredibly fast! I think sometimes it’s better to go first in a jump-off, because you just stick to your plan and everybody else has to try and beat you,” Coyle posited. “Sometimes it works out better!”

Tryon Fall 4 is Coyle’s first experience as a competitor at TIEC, and dominated his first FEI class at the venue by more than three seconds. Similarly, Coyle is testing the waters with his nine-year-old emerging star, as well as her abilities, he said.

“She’s been incredibly competitive all year anyway. In the beginning of the year, I didn’t know what was her class, or where she belonged, so to speak, but every time I ask her to jump a little bigger, and ask a little more, she keeps giving it to me,” he shared. “I’m going to keep going with her until the time that she says, ‘okay, maybe this is too much for me!’ But right now, I haven’t felt that yet.

“She’s still only nine, and winning 1.50m classes, so I have to be careful and make sure that I don’t ask her too much too soon,” Coyle emphasized. With this in mind, Coyle explained that he is selecting Farrel, the 2010 Dutch Warmblood gelding (Cardento 933 x Becherry) owned by Ariel Grange, to challenge Saturday’s $134,000 Gary Sinise Foundation Jump for Our Heroes Grand Prix CSI 3* presented by Lowe’s. He’ll save CHS Krooze for another 2* week or another venue entirely.

A lengthy entry list meant that CHS Krooze got to take an hour break in her stall between rounds, Coyle relayed, which helped to keep her mentally and physically fresh:

“I sent her back to the barn and she got to cool down and take an hour in the stall. I had Farrel to jump in the meantime. Everything worked out great that I got to keep going and keep myself active by jumping another horse, and then by that point it was time to get going for the jump-off.

“I think it’s always better for the horse to be able to have an hour off and come back between rounds, especially at a show such as this where everything is convenient,” Coyle noted. “Why not give the horse an hour break? Okay, adrenaline keeps them going at the time [if there’s no break], but it always makes it easier if they can have a little down time away from everything, and it freshens them up a little bit for the second round.

“This is my first time here, so it’s cool to win the first FEI class here,” concluded Coyle. “We are staying in a log cabin here onsite, and that’s really convenient and handy. We have lots of horses here, so it’s better if you’re closer.”

Leslie Burr-Howard and Donna Speciale Claim $5,000 Power & Speed Stake CSI 3*

Leslie Burr-Howard (USA) and Donna Speciale sped to win Wednesday’s $5,000 Power & Speed Stake CSI 3* during Tryon Fall 4 at TIEC with a double clear and a speed phase time of 33.617 seconds. Second place was awarded to David O’Brien (IRL) aboard Kir Royal SCF, a 2010 Belgian Warmblood gelding (Amaretto D’Arco x Nabab de Reve) owned by Spy Coast Farm, LLC, with a double-clear effort and a speed phase time of 34.061 seconds, while Lauren Hester (USA) earned third-place honors on Hester Equestrian’s Cooper 166, a 2010 Holsteiner gelding (Cancara x Unknown), with a speed phase time of 36.397 seconds.

Howard and the 2008 Dutch Warmblood mare (Cavalier x Concorde) owned by Laure Sudreau-Rippe and Peter competed against 54 other horse-and-rider pairs over the Michel Vaillancourt-set course, but Howard admitted that her plan was simply “just to let her [Donna Speciale] go at her own pace today.” She continued, “Donna is a very fast horse; she’s won, I think, four Grands Prix this year. She’s naturally fast over the ground, so it worked out.”

To learn more, visit www.Tryon.com.

Leslie Burr-Howard and Donna Speciale Best Field in $70k Tryon Resort Grand Prix CSI 2

Leslie Burr-Howard and Donna Speciale. Photo Credit ©Sportfot & TIEC.

Mill Spring, NC – May 5, 2018 – An electric atmosphere came to a hush at Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) on Saturday night, as Leslie Burr-Howard (USA) and Donna Speciale took to Tryon Stadium as the final combination in the jump-off round of the $70,000 Tryon Resort Grand Prix CSI 2*. The duo leapt to a fast, first place finish to revive the highly anticipated “Saturday Night Lights” competition and mark the first FEI show jumping victory of the 2018 season.

A total of 45 combinations took to the arena to contest the Richard Jeffery (GBR) designed course, with only eight returning to take their turn around the fast track. The field saw a battle until the very end, with Howard and the 2008 Dutch Warmblood mare (Cavalier x Concorde) claiming the blue ribbon after securing the fastest time as the last pair on course for the evening, stopping the timers in 42.167 seconds.

“I thought Richard [Jeffery] did a great job,” Howard explained of the night’s track. “It’s a sign of a good course when you have somewhere between six to eight clean. It’s a nice number. I think he did a great job because he had a bit of a mixed bag of horses. There were some young horses, some older horses, some young riders and I think he did well to get the eight clean that he did.”

Second place honors went to Ireland’s Paul O’Shea aboard Tequestrian Farms, LLC’s 2005 Belgian Warmblood gelding, Imerald Van’t Voorhof (Emerald Van’t Ruytershof x Bacardi-Orange de Muze), after racing around the jump-off track in 42.374 seconds. Third place was captured by Catherine Tyree (USA) and Mary Tyree’s Catungee, a 2006 Holsteiner gelding (Contact Me x Liatos), completing their round in 42.534 seconds.

Howard and the mare, owned by Laure Sudreau-Rippe and Peter Howard, rode to the top of the leaderboard just two-tenths of a second ahead of O’Shea, who was then knocked into second place. Despite the speed, Howard noted that she didn’t necessarily have one particular spot in the jump-off that shaved off time and credited the mare for her overall quickness.

“She is a very fast horse across the ground,” Howard said. “If you counted strides everywhere, I probably did more strides than the ones that were second and third, but she is such a quick horse that I knew I could have the luxury of not feeling like I had to leave out a stride in every line.”

The duo just returned from a light yet successful winter show season in Wellington, Florida, where they were the victors during the eleventh week of the 2018 Winter Equestrian Festival. Howard, who still considers the mare a less experienced competitor, intends to ask for more from the talented young mount as the summer progresses.

“I showed her very sparingly in Florida because I’m breaking her into the 1.60m level. I didn’t do a lot with her because I consider her to still be young. She’s ultra-careful, ultra-fast. We have a lot coming up in the summer, so I went for an easy Florida with good results before coming here. We will go to Lexington next week, then a month off, then off to Calgary.”

Howard concluded by complimenting the facility at TIEC and the atmosphere as a whole. She commented, “They’re doing an amazing job with the facility. I have to say tonight the footing was lovely. They’ve done a great job. It’s a great atmosphere here and they’re turning this into a world-class venue very quickly, probably faster than they thought they would be!”

To learn more about TIEC, please visit www.Tryon.com.

Leslie Burr Howard Claims the Win in the $75,000 HITS Grand Prix

(C) ESI Photography. Leslie Burr Howard and Up and Blue Chapelle.

Saugerties, NY (May 30, 2016): The grand finale of an exciting first week at HITS-on-the-Hudson commenced with the $75,000 HITS Grand Prix.

A talented field of exhibitors tested the course designed by Marina Azevedo of Campinas, Brazil, but only two would advance to the jump-off to compete for the blue. The victor would prove to be Leslie Burr Howard of Darien, Connecticut and Up and Blue Chappelle, owned by Peter and Gabriel Guerra Howard.

“The course designer, Marina, has been doing a great job this week,” said Howard. “This course was laid out thoughtfully; today wasn’t too big but it was tricky enough, especially for this amount of prize money, which is great to jump for. All the classes have been super – it’s not too big, not too little, and it’s planned well in where the jumps were placed.”

Sarah Segal of Flemington, New Jersey was first to challenge the first round of jumping efforts with Ubris, owned by Chartwell. A rail at the vertical immediately following the mid-course triple combination kept them out of the jump-off, but as the fastest pair with four faults in 77.209, they ultimately landed in third place.

Three trips passed before Wellington, Florida equestrian Jimmy Torano piloted Daydream, co-owned with Danielle Torano, to the first fault-free trip of the first-round, proving the course could be conquered.

Following Torano’s first round, several valiant rides took their chance at the course, including fourth place Matthew Williams of Fort Lauderdale, Florida aboard Cuchica, owned by Wyndmont, Inc. Williams clocked in with four faults in 78.840.

Christine McCrea of East Windsor, Connecticut also made the top five piloting Wannick WH, owned by Candy Tribble and Windsor Show Stables, Inc. They passed the timers with four faults in 79.025 just behind Williams for the fifth place prize.

It looked as though Torano had it in the bag with a clear round, until Howard took her turn at the course. The crowd cheered with excitement when they clocked in clear, providing the class with a jump-off.

It was down to Torano and Howard, both seasoned competitors with a plethora of grand prix wins and titles under their belts. Howard, an Olympic Gold and Silver medalist, and Torano, with two prestigious rides in the 1999 and 2000 FEI World Cup Final, would battle it out for the win.

Torano returned first, navigating the course efficiently as he and Daydream crossed the timers in 41.43.

Howard followed suit, knowing she and her mount needed to be clear and just a hair faster to take home the $22,500 winner’s share.

“My plan at first was just to watch Jimmy and if he was super-fast, I was not going to jump-off and just settle for second because she is young,” said Howard of her plan with Up and Blue Chapelle. “He was careful but not too quick – she was great.”

It was certainly a rewarding choice. Howard and her mount blazed through the timers fault-free in 39.884 to capture the win.

“She is a super mare,” said Howard after her victory. “She is very powerful and is settling into her prime. This was a great win.”

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