LEXINGTON, Ky.--Will Coleman and Boyd Martin dominated the Kentucky Three-Day CCI4*-S, with Coleman placing first on Diabolo and third on Off the Record while Martin was second on Commando 3 and fourth on Fedarman B.
Will Coleman on Diabolo (Photo by Allen MacMillan)Although overnight leader Liz Halliday on Miks Master C had a rail down to lose the lead, Coleman, Martin and Haliiday between them held seven of the top 10 spots to continue making a strong case for themselves to be a part of the Paris Olympics Eventing team.
Coleman on Diabolo finished on his dressage score of 29.9, only the second to ever accomplish that feat in the 4*, following 2023 champion Karl Slezak of Canad on Hot Bobo.
Coleman also finished third with Off The Record on 30.9, while Martin finished second on Commando 3 on 30.1 and fourth on Federman B on 32.5.
Coleman was favored to take the top spot coming into the class, but not with this horse; his top contender, Chin Tonic HS, had to withdraw before the start of the competition.
“I think I am pleasantly surprised, but not totally shocked,” he said. “This horse has been giving me the feeling of being on the verge of being competitive at a big event. I have a lot of belief in the horse’s talent, and I’ve been patiently biding my time until he was ready to show it to the rest of the world. He has a long way to go, but I’m really keen on him and really excited about him.”
COLEMAN has only had Diabolo for about a year.
Boyd Martin on Commando 3 (Photo by Allen MacMillan)He received an email from an agent in Australia representing the horse, something he admitted he gets a lot of and that he often discards out of hand.
But, in this case, his wife Katie happened to start watching the videos and told him he should take a look, that the horse seemed like something special.
Coleman then took his dad along for a three-day marathon trip to Australia and decided to purchase the horse and bring him to the U.S, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing.
“The transition to the northern hemisphere was difficult for him,” he said. “He struggled to feel like he was his normal self, and he had various issues with adjusting to life in a different hemisphere. It definitely took a toll on him.
“But I was patient. I couldn’t do a lot with him last year, and waited for him to tell us he was ready to compete again,” Coleman said. “It served us well; he’s been sort of quietly getting better this spring and we felt like good results were right around the corner. So his win]may be a little surprising, but for those of us who have been around the horse a lot, it felt like this was getting closer.”
“I think it’s always more difficult when you buy a horse later in their career,” Coleman said. “It’s never an easy thing. It may sound like a shortcut, but honestly, it’s more difficult.”
Martin and Coleman put the pressure on early, riding their first horses, Federman B and Off The Record, out of order and having clean rounds.
Martin then went clean on Commando 3, and kept the pressure on the top two.
“It was a great course,” Martin said. “The top jumpers all jumped well. The time was a little tight and you had to scoot around corners.”
Liz Halliday on Cooley Quicksilver (Photo by Allen MacMillan)Coleman and Diabolo rose to the occasion, keeping all the rails up, but overnight leader Halliday dropped the second-to-last rail on Miks Master C to drop to seventh on 33.2.
But she put in clean jumping rounds on her other two horses to ultimately have all three in the top 10, with Cooley Quicksilver in sixth on 32.8 and Shanroe Cooley in ninth on 37.7.
Caroline Pamukcu on HSH Blake, the 2023 Pan American Games gold medalist, was fifth on 32.5, and her Pan American teammates Sydney Elliott on QC Diamantaire was eighth on 37.6, and Dani Sussman on Jos Bravio was 10nth on 38.3.
Faults were spread pretty evenly around Steve Stephens’ course, though there were a surprising amount of rails at the first fence.
There were 12 double-clear rounds, including the top six finishers, with another six adding just time faults.
“I’m very blessed with two horses that finished in the top group here, and it’s hard to split them; each is about as good as the other,” Martin said. “It’s a wonderful position to be in to have a couple of hopefuls (for the Paris Olympics), but they’re like your children. You should never favor one more than another.”
“I don’t think any of us is going to say which horse we’d like to take,” Coleman said. “We all believe in all of the horses we have. Diabolo is a newer horse for me. ‘Timmy’ is more tried and tested, but he’s getting a little older. Truthfully, I’m not thinking too much about Paris. I want to regroup after the event and see where my horses are at. What happens for the selection is out of my hands.”
“I’m in a little bit of a different position, because the oldest horse in my string is 9,” Pamukcu said. “Blake is the top of my string, and I’m supposed to head over to Europe with my other horses next month as part of the U.S. Eventing European Development Tour. He’s going to run the 4*-L in Tryon and then if that goes well, hopefully, we’ll be looking toward the Olympics.”
In the five star, with many of this country's top riders and horses choosing to run in the four star, international riders took the top four places and six of the top10 spots.
OliverTownend on Cooley Rosalent (Photo by Allen MacMillan)As the World #1 ranked rider, Great Britain’s Oliver Townend is no stranger to the CCI5*-L level, nor is he a stranger to winning at the Kentucky Three-Day Event.
At the end of his 100th CCI5*-L competition on Sunday, Townend on his young mare Cooley Rosalent won with a clean show jumping round, finishing with a score of 31.8.
This year marked Townend’s eighth CCI5*-L win and his fourth victory in Kentucky.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of this horse,” he said of the 10-year-old gray Irish Sporthorse mare owned by Paul and Diana Ridgeon. “Paul’s been a huge supporter to myself and Andrew Nicholson. He’s owned event horses for about 45 years and he just celebrated his 92nd birthday, and this is his first win at the level, so thank you to Paul."
“I’m still able to cry at my age, and we’re just so proud of the team at home,” he said. “I’m still in shock. This is just the most special event in the world and a special day in all of our lives.”
Fellow Brits Tom McEwen on JL Dublin, who finished on 33.8 and Yasmin Ingham on Banzai Du Loir, 35.6, who were in first and second respectively coming into the final phase, both dropped rails to fall below Townend in the final standings.
Lauren Nicholson on Vermiculus (Photo by Allen MacMillan
“‘Dubs’ has been amazing,” McEwen said. “I feel like this weekend has really cemented our partnership. He’s such a nice, polite kind of character, and we’ve just taken a bit of time to find our path.
“I thought he did the best dressage ever, and I was kind of gutted at the marks if I’m being honest,” he said. “He was fast on cross-country, just had a few things which cost me seconds, and he’s a great jumper. Today is one of those things and I’m sure I’ll beat myself up about it, but he’s crazy special. I know on his day, he will wipe the floors clean. It’s exciting coming up to an Olympic year to have put ourselves in a great position. So, onwards and upwards.”
“Overall, I thought he jumped super today; he just had an unlucky rub on an oxer,” Ingham said of Banzai du Loir. “These things happen for a reason, and I know we’ll come out stronger next time. I’m delighted with him; it’s exciting to be on the podium at a 5* and it’s a very important year. He’s feeling amazing, so we’ll go away and work even harder.”
Clean rounds were hard to come by over Steve Stephens’ course Sunday afternoon, with only Townend and eventual fourth-placed finisher Malin Hansen-Hotopp of Germany on Carlitos Quidditch K managing to go double clear.
An additional four had time penalties, including Buck Davidson on Sorocaima, sixth on 41.8, James Alliston on Karma, 12th on 50.5, Joe Meyer of New Zealand on Harbin, 14th on 50.8, and Susannah Berry of Ireland on Clever Trick, 22nd on 82.0.
Lauren Nicholson and Vermiculus finished on 39.0, fifth overall, but as the highest-placed American won the USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Championship, with Davidson as the runner-up.
“We came in feeling a touch rusty because he hasn’t had a proper big outing since the World Championships in 2022, but I wanted to come and be competitive,” Nicholson said. “I would have liked to have beaten this lot, but I was very pleased for the fan following he has that I was able to deliver what he deserved to get on the day.”
Other top seven finishers in the National Championship were Halliday on Cooley Nutcracker, 42.2, Jennie Brannigan on FE Lifestyle, 42.2, Sharon White on Claus 63, 47.9, James Alliston on Karma, 50.5 and MiaFaley on Phelps, 50.6.
Farley dropped from fifth to 13th with four fences down, and all the dropped rails were at the four verticals.
In fact, Farley even chose to jump the vertical when there was a choice,but he jumped all the spread fences easily, so he needs work on verticals.
Townend has had Cooley Rosalent in his barn since she was a 4-year-old. He was so taken with her that he initially bought her himself, something he doesn’t normally do, before selling her to Paul Ridgeon who was looking to add to his string.
The mare has an interesting and near-perfect pedigree for the sport, with her full Thoroughbred dam Bellaney Jewel being a winner of the Scottish Grand National and her sire Valent being a top-level show jumper.
Coincidentally, she is a full sister to Jewelent, who Philip Dutton rode in the CCI4*-S.
“She’s tough, and she definitely knows her job,” Townend said. “She’s not merry, but she knows what she wants. She’s a very different personality to my other horse, Ballaghmor Class. She’s pretty feisty and needs managing that way, but it feels like she loves her job in all three phases, and that there are no chinks in the armor and no weaknesses. Any mistakes are greenness or lack of experience. She’s one of the best horses I’ve ever ridden."
“The color is lucky as well,” he said. “I like gray horses.”
Townend’s win gives him the second leg of the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing, which awards a $350,000 cash prize to the rider who can win Badminton, Burghley, and Kentucky in succession, but not necessarily in that order.
Townend’s victory at Burghley in 2023 and now at Kentucky makes his rides at Badminton next week, where he’s entered with Treglider and Ballaghmor Class, all the more interesting.
He’s won two of the legs twice before without being able to win the third.
“Hoping for third time lucky,” he said. “It’s a huge privilege to be in this position for a third time. The first time, I nearly killed myself trying to win. The second time, I came second at Badminton. So, fingers crossed.”
While many riders competed with Olympic selection in mind, the amount of depth both the U.S. and British team selectors have to choose from — as well as an Olympic format that cuts the team berths down to three — means no one is punching their ticket to Paris just yet.
“It’s out of our hands now,” Ingham said. “We’ve done our job this weekend.”
