UNIONVILLE, Pa.--Will Coleman on Diabolo finished on a final score of 27.5 to win the $40,000 CCI4-S at the Plantation Field International Three-Day Event on Sunday, Sept.22.
Will Coleman on Diabolo (Photo by Amy Dragoo Photography)A clear across country clinched the win for Coleman.
Riding Diabolo, Coleman took the lead in dressage and held on through the end, adding just 3.6 time faults on cross country for a final score of 27.5.
Coleman said that it felt like a good preparation for the Maryland Five-Star next month, which will be the horse’s first run at that level.
“He was very ready to go today," said Coleman. "I actually had a hard time getting him in the start box. But he loves his job, so I can’t be annoyed that he gets a bit hyper, but once he gets out there, he settles very quickly. He’s just a lovely horse. He jumped around today very well, I wasn’t really pressing him for time, but he was full of running all the way to the end.”
The $40,000 prize money was thanks to a generous $25,000 donation from an anonymous donor in the name of the charity Brooke USA.
The winner also received a certificate for a €2400 discount off of a €30,000 or more purchase at the Goresbridge Go for Gold select event horse sale in Ireland in November, as well as a number of other prizes.
BOYD MARTIN on Tsetserleg TSF, who was second after yesterday’s show jumping, also was clean on cross country, but he had a slow and conservative ride that added 26.4 time faults to his score and dropped him to 12th place.
Ariel Grald, who won the CCI4-S at this event in 2023, moved up from eighth to second on Isla de Coco by going clean cross country and adding just 3.6 time faults.
“I think this is an important event in the calendar,” said Grald. “We’re ramping up for our long events in the fall and this one ticks all the boxes to prepare for that.”
“I think the track was similar to last year, but it asked different questions, and that is where cross-country course designer Derek diGrazia is a genius." said Graid. "He uses the terrain very well, and I felt like this was a good fitness run. Isla de Coco is doing her first four-star long at Morven Park, and I felt like it was important to make her run up and down the hills here. Derek set a great track, it had really good questions and I feel like the horses were able to read it well.”
Michael Nolan of Ireland on piloted Carrabeg Hulla Balou was clean cross country with 6.4 time faults to finish in third place, a standing that they held from start to finish.
“It was good to get my horse’s dressage more consistent, and it was good to get a clear cross-country round because we needed the qualification,” he said. “I’m an FEI ‘C’ rider, so I have to do two to qualify and then hopefully do something bigger next year.”
He also rode a couple of horses at the two-star level this weekend.
Nolan has been in the U.S. for 10 years working for Robin Walker in Michigan, after moving over from his home in County Wexford.
Walker bought Carrabeg Hulla Balou as a 3-year-old in Ireland, and Nolan brought him up through the levels.
Susan Martin purchased him this spring, and Nolan has continued riding the horse, known at home as “Louie”.
While he may be a new face at this big event, he said that the other upper level riders have been friendly and welcoming since he moved to the U.S., and he feels that they are more friends than competitors.
Nolan said that he plans to give Louie another CCI4-S run at Morven Park in a couple of weeks, then move up to a Long-Format CCI4-star at TerraNova in Florida in November.
