Will Coleman and Off The Record. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
In a sport of peaks and valleys, there’s no denying the feeling of elation you’d get from a personal best on a major stage. Will Coleman is basking in that light Friday in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S with his longtime partner Off The Record.
“What can you say about him? He’s [got] the heart of a lion. He just keeps trying to get better, even though he’s a year older. I just can’t say enough about him,” he said.
Riding for the Off The Record Syndicate, Will and “Timmy” rode an hour later than anticipated due to a weather delay, but despite that and the deluge, the 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse rose to the occasion, laying down the best dressage score of his International career on 21.8 points. (His previous PB was 21.9 at Great Meadow in 2020)
Groom Erin Jarboe with Off The Record. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
“He was really up this morning. I mean, he hasn’t really been out a whole lot this spring… but he’s an old, experienced horse. He remembers what he’s done here for so many years, and he was really excited this morning. And I actually think the rain kind of helped me,” Will said.
The first phase isn’t necessarily Timmy’s strength, though he is proficient and professional, so Will focuses on achieving relaxation above all else in warmup.
“I had a lot of great assistance from the Woodhead family—Ian and Amy—these last couple weeks. They’ve helped me a lot in understanding how to try to ride Timmy for those four minutes. We have to have him looking a certain way in the arena, getting him in there feeling confident in his body, and a little softer in his brain and in his frame,” he said.
“[I’m] not really riding for a test outline or a test frame until the horse is really soft and really available and feeling good about himself. And that might only be for a couple of minutes before you go down centerline, but I’m lucky that he’s experienced, and I know he’s going to be on his game in there. We relied on that. [I’m] kind of trying to be a yoga instructor for him—as sort of frustrating as that can feel at times—it worked.”
Will Coleman and Off The Record. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
The 2024 season was one that was teed up to be monumental for Will, but ultimately ended up falling short of expectations. After narrowly missing out on the Paris Olympic Games, he opted for Timmy to have a crack at Pau CCI5*-L. Grueling conditions in a foot of mud left the pair settling for self preservation rather than speed, and their 24th place finish was respectable, but not the result he’d hoped for the 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse. Because of that, he opted to ease Timmy into the 2025 season with four-stars rather than go pedal to the medal to get him five-star ready.
“You know, he had a long year last year. It ended up feeling like just a really kind of draining 2024, and Pau was just kind of a mess. It wasn’t at all what we had envisioned when we went over there,” Will said. “He’s 16. I didn’t want to start him back really that early this spring to have him as fit as he would need to be for Kentucky. The five-star level has always been kind of a stretch for him, and I think we wanted to just bring him out, do this 4*-S, maybe see how he feels after doing that—see what he feels like out there tomorrow. Then we can maybe pick and choose something, either like Luhmühlen, or maybe something else later in the year. But we just felt like the time frame was going to be a little quick. It felt like it would have been maybe a little taxing on him. He’s at a point where we don’t really want to tax him. I’ve always wanted to finish feeling like he’s got another run in him—not feeling like, ‘Oh, I wish I hadn’t done that.’”
Phillip Dutton and Possante. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
Thursday’s dressage leader Phillip Dutton beat his own leading score, but couldn’t quite catch Will and Timmy. He moved his second ride, the the 12-year-old KWPN Possante into second place. Denim is now third on his score of 25.6.
Riding for the Possante Group, Phillip brought “Impy” to a new personal best not only at the level, but of his International career. His previous career-best was a 23.9 way back at the CCI2*-L level with former rider Emily King of Great Britain.
“I’m pretty pleased with Impy. It’s not the best conditions and there’s a lot of atmosphere in there and he kept listening to the all the way through,” Phillip said.
Phillip decided to enter both Possante and Denim in the four-star rather than the five-star this weekend, but he certainly won’t be bored on Saturday’s cross country.
“It’s bloody tough. Its a big course,” he said. “There’s six-and-a-half minutes and a lot to do in that time, so the time is going to be hard to get as well. I think you’ve got to ride pretty smart and have a plan, but you’ve got to be ready to adjust the plan as your horse is reacting.”
Chris Talley and FE Marco Polo. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.
Chris Talley takes fourth place with Allison Pratt’s FE Marco Polo. This the 9-year-old Oldenburg’s second four-star, and today they laid down a 26.8–their best International dressage score to date.
“He’s a remarkable horse. He’s quite emotional, but I think he and I are on the same kind of wavelength, so we’ve worked through some of his spooky issues. He’s really come to the horse park, and he felt like he wanted to play–like he knew it was a big deal. He’s been great all week, but my biggest concern was him being in there alone because he can go hero to zero really fast. But he believed me the whole way around. That’s what this sport is about–making a partnership with the horse, and today he rewarded me with that.”
Ariel Grald and Diara. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
Ariel Grald moves into striking distance with Annie Eldridge’s adorably floppy-eared mare Diara. The 11-year-old Hanoverian (Diacontinus — Lady Revens, by Colon xx) has been challenging on the flat for Ariel in the last two seasons, posting uncharacteristic scores into the 40s, but today she was the picture of rideability, dancing to an easy 27.3 for third place.
Thursday’s second-placed Molly Duda and Disco Traveler have settled in sixth place (27.7), and Caroline Pamukcu moved from third to seventh with her Paris Olympics partner HSH Blake (27.9). Will Coleman’s Thursday ride, Very Dignified, moved from fourth down into eighth on a score of 28.
Canada’s Dana Cooke claimed ninth place with FE Quatro, an 11-year-old DSP (Quaterstern — Elina, by Coriograph B) owned by the FE Quattro Syndicate, on a score of 28.3. Aiken-based Sarah Kuhn wraps up the top ten aboard Deborah Kuhn’s 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood (Deauville van TL — Ishtar van de Start, by Toulon) Mr. Cash van de Start on a score of 28.4.
You’ll see the entire four-star class come forward for cross country Saturday starting at 9:00 a.m. You can watch it all live on ClipMyHorse or follow along with our live updates on EN.
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