Great Britain’s Rachel Proudley added another impressive result to her growing Puissance record as she shared victory with Ireland’s Jordan Coyle in Saturday evening’s Defender Puissance at the 2026 Dublin Horse Show.
Riding Graham Ward’s Easy Boy de Laubry Z, Proudley produced four faultless rounds as the famous red wall rose from 1.80m to 2.15m, approximately 7ft 1in.
Home favourite Coyle matched her performance aboard the experienced Eristov, leaving the British and Irish combinations to face the wall one final time at 2.22m.
Neither combination managed to clear the towering final height, with both collecting four faults. Having remained faultless through every previous round, Proudley and Coyle could not be separated and shared the top prize.
Proudley arrived in Dublin as the defending Puissance champion, having won the class with Easy Boy de Laubry Z in 2025 after clearing 2.15m. Their return to the top of the leaderboard further underlined the combination’s remarkable consistency in one of showjumping’s most demanding specialist classes.
The 21-year-old British rider also embraced the occasion by competing in a Mayo GAA jersey and entering the arena to The Green and Red of Mayo by The Saw Doctors, earning an enthusiastic reception from the Dublin crowd.
Third place went to Ireland’s Derek McCoppin and Explosief’s Legacy. The pair also cleared 2.15m but incurred eight faults when the wall reached its final height. Andrew Hodgins and Shanaclough Luichew finished fourth after progressing to the 2.15m round.
Held in front of a packed Laya Arena, the Defender Puissance was one of the highlights of the five-day Gallagher Dublin Horse Show. First staged in 1864, the show has been hosted by the RDS for more than 150 years and remains one of the most prestigious fixtures in the international equestrian calendar.
The 2026 edition ran from 5 to 9 August and included CSIO5* international showjumping alongside an extensive programme of national showing and jumping classes.
Top four results
- Rachel Proudley (GBR) and Easy Boy de Laubry Z, joint winners
- Jordan Coyle (IRL) and Eristov, joint winners
- Derek McCoppin (IRL) and Explosief’s Legacy
- Andrew Hodgins (IRL) and Shanaclough Luichew
Feature image: Rachel Proudley riding Easy Boy de Laubry Z joint winners of the Defender Puissance @1st Class Images
