WILL Coleman has written his name into the record books, as only the second American in the last 18 years to win the CCI5*-L at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. He did so with Diabolo.

“I probably can’t put it into words,” Coleman said of his win with the Diabolo Group’s Holsteiner gelding. “It’s a surreal feeling; it’s something we all dream about. Winning (a five-star) is the hardest thing to do in equestrian sports, and I feel like (all the riders) deserve the win. It’s such a hard game, it takes so long to get good enough at it to contend at this level.

“I have so much respect for the sport, and the horses and riders, so it feels like it’s unfair that I’m the only one that gets to take home the win,” he continued. “But I’m overjoyed for the horse and all who are involved in his journey - the owners, my family, my coaches, and our staff at home. I wake up most days feeling like the luckiest guy in the world and today I feel extremely lucky.”

Coleman has also won the Defender/USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Championship, presented by MARS Equestrian for the U.S. riders, as he was the highest-placed American.

Prestigious

The event is one of just seven prestigious five-star eventing competitions in the world. It is the largest and longest-running five-star event in the Americas. The venue hosts the CCI5*-L, alongside the Cosequin® Lexington CCI4*-S and the Kentucky International CSI5*, bringing together the very best of international eventing and show jumping.

For an Irish rider to compete at five-star level is impressive; to do so for the first time at Kentucky even more so. Padraig McCarthy travelled across the Atlantic with the appropriately-named Pomp N Circumstance to do just that and the pair gave a good account of themselves.

This year’s CCI5*-L attracted a start list of 29, representing five nations - the USA, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Ireland, whose sole participant McCarthy was making his Kentucky and five-star debut. With a withdrawal, an elimination and four retirees, 23 combinations finished the class, including McCarthy and Pomp N Circumstance, who finished in a creditable 17th place.

The CCI5*-L dressage scores ranged from low 20s right up to low 40s and saw New Zealand’s Monica Spencer take the lead with Artist on a score of 22.3. Fellow New Zealander Tim Price rode Vitali into second place on 22.6, ahead of Tom McEwen for Great Britain riding the 17-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Brookfield Quality (OBOS Quality 004 x Bay Coffey Cavalier by Cavalier Royale), bred by Sean Kelly in Co Monaghan. Caroline Pamukcu (USA) rode another Irish Sport Horse, the 11-year-old gelding HSH Blake (Tolan R x Doughiska Lass by Kannan), bred by Justin Burke, into fourth place on a dressage score of 26.6, while her fellow countryman Coleman and Diabolo scored 27.3 for fifth. Phillip Dutton (USA) scored 28.1 with Possante to place sixth. McCarthy and Pomp N Circumstance scored 33.0, which was good enough for 13th place at that stage.

The cross-country proved challenging, as expected at five-star level, with only four combinations negotiating the course without either jumping or time penalties. Spencer (NZL) and Artist were among these and retained their lead. Coleman and Diabolo also stayed on their dressage score to move up to second place, while Pamukcu and HSH Blake incurred two time penalties, but they still moved up to third place. David Doel (GBR) and Galileo Nieuwmoed were among the cross-country clears, which moved them up from 12th place after dressage into fourth. Price (NZL) and Vitali incurred 9.2 time penalties, which dropped them to fifth, while McEwen (GBR) and Brookfield Quality picked up eight time penalties across the country to put them in sixth place before the final phase. The only other clear cross-country round within the time came from Australia’s Sophia Hill and Humble Glory, who moved from joint 23rd place after dressage up to ninth.

McCarthy and Pomp N Circumstance collected jumping and time penalties across the country, after an issue at the last part of fence 23, which at that stage moved them down to 20th place.

The show jumping phase, designed by Guilherme Jorge, was influential - especially for Spencer, who incurred 12 jumping and 2.4 time penalties, which dropped her and Artist from first place to eventual seventh. The next six riders on the scoreboard all fared better and they each moved up a place, with four of them jumping clear within the allocated time.

Boyd Martin (USA) and Commando 3 jumped clear within the time in the show jumping moving them into sixth place (34.2), while McEwen and his mount did likewise to move to fifth (33.1). Price picked up just 1.2 time penalties, moving him to fourth (33.0), while Doel and Pamukcu each show jumped clear within the time, placing third (30.8) and second (28.6) respectively. Coleman collected 0.8 time penalties, but his final score of 28.1 was the winning one.

Runner-up Pamukcu said afterwards: “I’m really proud of (all my) horses. I’ve got incredible horses and I try every day to be the best person I can be. It’s the hardest sport, and I try to do the best I can for my horses, and today (Blake) helped me out a lot. He’s such a special horse and he made up for everything that I lacked.”

McCarthy rode a flawless clear show jumping round inside the time with Pomp N Circumstance to finish on a score of 75.0, which moved them up to 17th place at the finish. Both horse and rider will have learned so much from the whole experience.

Four-star

There were no Irish riders in the CCI4*-S, but Coleman (USA) rode a very respectable round with the Irish Sport Horse Very Dignified to claim the runner-up position. The pair scored 31.4 in dressage and picked up 4.4 for time across the country and 1.6 for time show jumping to finish on 37.4 in second place. Tamra Smith (USA) won the class with Lillet 3 on a final score of 31.3 and, in doing so, she became the first person to have won both the CCI5*-L (2023) and the CCI4*-S at Kentucky (this feat was later matched by Coleman, who has now also won both).

Coleman had a great weekend, aside from winning the five-star class and his four-star runner-up finish, he also placed fifth with his other mount, Fahrenheit Addict

“(Very Dignified’s) awesome, I love this mare,” Coleman said of his 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse. “She’s very opinionated, kind of an alpha female and really classy. I thought she was great all weekend. We didn’t have the dressage she’s capable of, but she jumped great for me today. This is her first advanced start of the year, so all things considered, I’m thrilled. It was Fahrenheit Addict’s first advanced run of the year too, and I thought he put forth a nice run.”