Will Coleman and Off the Record. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Will Coleman and Off the Record delivered a clear show jumping round on a frigid morning at the Cloud 11~Gavilan North LLC Carolina International to win the Advanced division on 45.5 in the horse’s debut at the level.
Off the Record, a 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse (VDL Arkansas X Drumagoland Bay, by Ard Ohio) owned by the Off the Record Syndicate, powered through the rain on cross country yesterday to come home with 14.4 time penalties in trying conditions.
“There are things to clean up (in the show jumping) but there always are, and I’m always fighting a bit of a perfectionist streak,” Will said. “I can’t be anything but happy. He tried really hard. This was a big test for a first Advanced. He was awesome yesterday.”
Will trains with Richard Picken for show jumping and said his guidance has been immensely helpful for Off the Record, better known as “Timmy.”
“The consistency of having one person manage your warm-up allows me to think more about doing my thing on the horses,” Will said. “It’s been great for me mentally as much as anything. I think he’s been really dedicated to the event riders, and we’re appreciative of someone who can devote that kind of time to our improvement.”
Off the Record will next head to Fair Hill CIC3*, and Will said he is considering adjusting the horse’s summer plan based on how well he handled Ian Stark’s trying cross country course yesterday.
“My plan with the owners had been to campaign him through the summer at CIC3* level because I thought he needed time to develop the stamina and turn of foot to make the time at CCI level, but he was so good yesterday. Maybe that’s already happened!”
Will gave the credit for the horse’s performance and win to his wife, Katie, who manages his program and is absolutely the secret to his success, he said.
“Katie is such a big part of what we do at home. A lot of people don’t realize how much she does for me, but she’s my everyday eyes on the ground. She’s a fabulous horse person and a great rider in her own right. It was nice to have my whole family here. We had a great weekend, and it made it that much better. I feel like a really lucky guy right now.”
Considering the Advanced division went cross country in a downpour yesterday, the horses all jumped well across the board over Marc Donovan’s show jumping course, surely thanks in part to jumping on the new arena surface from Attwood Equestrian Surfaces. Eleven of the 16 horses in the division jumped clear rounds inside the time for a 68.8% clear rate.
Boyd Martin and Long Island T. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Boyd Martin and Long Island T, a 12-year-old Oldenburg/Thoroughbred (Ludwig Von Bayern X Haupstsbuch Highlight, by Heraldik xx) owned by the Long Island T Syndicate, jumped clear to finish second on 46.8.
Will Coleman also jumped clear with the Conair Syndicate’s Tight Lines, an 11-year-old French Thoroughbred (Turgeon X Merindole, by Tel Quel), to finish third on 47.0.
Waylon Roberts and Lancaster, an 11-year-old Canadian Sport Horse owned by Michelle and John Koppin, jumped clear to finish fourth on 51.7.
Waylon Roberts and Lancaster. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Boyd Martin and his homebred Ray Price, an 11-year-old Thoroughbred cross owned by the Ray Price Syndicate, just moved up to Advanced at Pine Top and looked impressive all weekend along in his second start at the level. He jumped a lovely clear with 1 time penalty this morning to finish fifth on 52.9.
Click here to catch up on all of EN’s coverage of Carolina International. Thank you to everyone who has followed along with our coverage this weekend. Most of all, thank you to the volunteers, grooms and support crews who have endured this miserable cold weather. You are the real heroes! Go Eventing.
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