Coleman Captures Cross Country Day in US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final at Morven Park

“What can I say? They were great,” Will Coleman started off when I chatted to him at the end of cross country day at the US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final at Morven Park. It was a banner day for Will, who laid down two of three clear rounds inside the time, both with the Off the Record Syndicate’s Off the Record as well as the Very Dignified Group’s Very Dignified. He’s now poised to take not only the win, but potentially another spot in the final top five (or better); EquiRatings has now given Off the Record a 77% win chance, after starting post-dressage with a 68% probability.

I quickly bullied Will into telling me more about his day, despite the fact he likely, in his concise way, felt his “they were great!” quote was sufficient enough.

He admits it wasn’t his smoothest day of riding, and while he finished inside the time with Off the Record, he noted that the rhythm he sought wasn’t as easy to find as usual out there. “‘Timmy’ was really worked up in the warm-up,” he said. “He’s actually never been here before, and it felt like he — I don’t know — he left the start box, and he was just really, really quite strong. And it was sort of to his credit that he just kept fighting and finding the flags. He’s just such a warrior out there. He’s never been the most gifted galloper, but I feel like I had him quite fit, and he managed to get the time, even though it doesn’t feel like you’re on Pegasus out there. But he’s an amazing trier, and I just have so much respect for him and am so grateful for him.”

Will’s integrated the use of an Arineo heart rate monitor more strategically into his program this season, working with Dr. Cris Navas, a cardiology expert at New Bolton Center in Pennsylvania. For a rider whose spent decades learning the feel of getting a horse properly fit, the addition of more scientific data was a tool that helped him dial in on the fitness even more.

“It’d be difficult to go into it in great detail now, but I just looked at where I thought his conditioning [was],” he explained. “I guess I looked harder at sort of ‘profiling’ him more accurately in terms of what sort of horse he was, what he was he good at, what was he not as good at, and how could I maybe help that [with] how I trained him and prepared him. I’ve had a lot of help from Cris Navas at New Bolton Center, who’s been somebody that I’ve bounced my conditioning off of. He takes a look at all my heart rate stuff on all my horses, and he has been just an absolutely wonderful guy, and really has been very helpful in helping me put some science behind what I’m doing and not just doing it all by feel.”

“The other thing is we’re in some different properties now than where we’ve been in the past, so we’re learning new hills and that takes time too,” he continued. “I guess my point is, we have done things a bit differently from the beginning of this year to now, and I think it’s paid off. [Timmy] is an older horse, and they do tend to hold a lot more fitness, but even with [Very Dignified] I’m very impressed with how she ran, too. I really only thought I had her at about 80 or 90 percent of what I want coming in here, and that’s sort of why I went out and said ‘ok, I’m not going to press at all in the beginning, I’m just going to see what she gives me’ and she gave me more than I expected.”

Even with the benefit of more information, though, Will knows that horsemanship still needs to come first, and that is what contributes to the results he produced today. “I think you have to be a little careful — you have to have an idea of what you’re looking for from the information and not basing everything you’re doing on that, you have to pay attention to the horse and to conditions and you still have to have a sense of what your program is. But I think it has helped me. It’s helped me get a little better, but time will tell. It worked this weekend, it might not work another weekend.”

Will collected his first clear inside the time with Very Dignified, who has competed at this level before with former rider Robbie Kearns of Ireland, but this was only the second Advanced the 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare. Keeping his expectations in check, he was nonetheless chuffed with how she performed today. She’ll be in sixth overnight on a score of 35.4.

“She was great, man,” Will said. “I’m really, really happy with her. In warm-up, she was so worked up, I just went straight to start box, which I’ve never had to do that before. But she’s a very, very brave horse. Actually I got into a bit of a groove quicker, even than Timmy. I was amazed — I wasn’t really going out there necessarily to get the time. I kind of just cruised through the first six minutes, and I was about 10 seconds down, maybe a little more. When I got through the mansion, I said, ‘Okay, I think let’s see what we got here,’ and I let her go and, man, she went! She flew home, and I just had loads in the tank.”

It was not a drama-free day, however, and while Will’s lead remained unthreatened, the second position on the board fell into hot contention.

Similarly to the incidents at Boekelo yesterday, which saw eventual overnight leader Laura Collett handed down a flag penalty (and, weirdly, an elimination) that took hours upon hours to review and, finally, remove (you can read more about this in Tilly’s report here), flag penalties were given to Boyd Martin on Ocala Horse Properties’ and Deborah Palmer’s Miks Master C: one at 17B, the Great American Challenge, and another at 20B, part of the Virginia Horse Industry Board Water Complex. As Boyd crossed the finish with 2.8 time penalties (which would, without the added 30 penalties, have put him onto a two-phase score of 28.7 and just behind Will, the penalties flashed up and suddenly, he was dropped to 14th place. Lucienne Bellissimo flew into second place with Kitsch Couture HPK on a score of 33.5 after adding just two time penalties.

With $200,000 on the line (and really, any time, to be fair), the importance of timely review of penalties comes into focus. To be clear, it appears the delay in this instance was tech-related in that it took longer than usual for the officials to obtain the videos of the incidents for review.

“To be honest, I was shocked I got the flags. In defense of the competition, I think there was some technical issues just getting the video to to the officials, but it’s sort of five hours after the event’s finished,” Boyd told me. I’m not exactly sure of the time the scores were updated, but I do know that when I refreshed the scores at around 5 p.m. tonight (the final rider went out on cross-country around 1 p.m.) after keeping a consistent eye on them throughout the afternoon, Boyd’s penalties had been reversed and he was back into second place. I did confirm with officials that the delay was related to the receipt of the video, not deliberation on whether the penalties should stand.

Boyd’s frustration, though, still stands. “They do need to find an efficient way to get this sorted out ASAP,” he said. “Just because the owners and the supporters the horses, they should be on a on a high with how their horse performed. I feel terrible for the people that are in second and third place, if there’s a press conference or anything. This process shouldn’t take hours. I think as the sports progresses, it needs to be almost instant. I’m sure with technology, they can start doing a lot more quick, but I think they literally — when I contacted the Technical Delegate, they just couldn’t get hold of the footage. And, yeah, deep down, I knew I was clear, but it was a long, long wait for a lot of people, and badly disappointing for some of the people that are pushed down a spot.”

While of course the situation at Boekelo and here at Morven Park are quite different, the sentiment remains the same among many riders that the ever-controversy-sparking flag rule needs to be tightened up, and so does the review process.

As Tilly pointed out in her report tonight, the timeliness of review becomes a piece of the larger puzzle of equestrian sport and its aim to grow its reach beyond its small walls. Today’s cross country was broadcast live on ESPN3, and in a sporting world where reviews are undertaken instantaneously, it’s difficult not to feel like our sport is behind the eight ball. Yes, of course, there are always technical glitches that like to show themselves at the most inopportune times, and I can only speak to this specific instance in limited terms, not having spoken with the parties involved with actually obtaining and transferring the footage of Boyd’s alleged penalties. What I can attest to, however, is the general lack of technical knowledge within the sport and the somewhat patched together camera systems that many events often employ to manage verification of things like flags. This is, yes, a step forward from handing a volunteer an iPad and instructing them to capture every rider (which some events do still do), and yes, we work in areas where WiFi and cell service are often nonexistent, but I find myself erring on the side of the riders here, solely from the standpoint of “where are we in relation to other sports who are reaching more people?”

To be clear, the officials also are tasked with erring on the side of the riders if the penalty is unclear or unable to be firmly proven, similar to a review in American football in which the decision is not made to overturn a call unless there is compelling evidence that it was improperly made. New Zealand’s Jesse Campbell, who was knocked from first to second after the Boekelo snafu, expressed the sentiments well: “There are slightly different processes at different events, and I definitely think that just needs to be slightly tidied up, otherwise each team is going to be employing a team of lawyers to fight these penalties, and I don’t think that’s what the sport is about.”

And when an event like the US Open was created with a large purpose of helping our sport reach more people, it’s important that we think about it through a mainstream sporting lens. The action should be easy enough to follow and understand, and there should be timely, clear decisions made on final standings. Otherwise, confusion leads to disinterest, and suddenly you’ve lost your target audience. It may sound like I’m barking up a tree (I’m really choosing to die on these Morven Park hills this week) I have no business barking up, but when I listen to David O’Connor talk so enthusiastically about the goal of the Open being to increase engagement with our sport and then see something like this somewhat mar a great day, it just feels like the wind gets taken out of the sails in some ways.

ANYWAY.

Once the dust settled from the flag drama, I called up Boyd, who was also thrilled with his two rides today. Miks Master C is poised for at least a second place finish, and Dallas LLC’s Shanroe Cooley is also in the hunt for some of that prize money, in eighth on a 35.9. Both former Liz Halliday rides, the two horses have only been in Boyd’s program for about a year (Shanroe Cooley even less so), so Boyd wasn’t entirely sure what to expect today.

Of Miks Master C, he said, “I set out a little bit cautiously and held him a back a little bit too much the first couple of minutes and then and about a third of the way around, I thought, ‘all right, we’re in business here.’ I cut him loose, and he flew around the track. He’s an unbelievable athlete.”

Liz would describe “Mikki” as a stronger, powerful horse, so how has Boyd managed that power as he’s gotten to know the 13-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding who was bred here in the U.S. by Laurie Cameron. Here, he credits the slow process of preparation and also the fact that he’d watched the horse with Liz for so long that he had context on what he would be riding when Mikki came into his program. “I never got to the point where he was strong in his preparation events,” Boyd said, having run Mikki sparingly and trusting in the foundation he’d gotten from Liz. When he did fire up and get a little strong on cross country today, “I was sort of trying to make a big effort not to fight with him, and trying to more, sort of, instead of pulling back, trying to lift his frame uphill. But that’s something I’ve got to work on and address next year as we head towards getting him back to the five-star level.”

Lucienne Bellissimo was over the moon with Horse Scout Eventing’s Kitsch Couture HPK, a horse she sourced from Sweden’s Frida Anderson just last year, moving up from eighth into third on a score of 33.5 with 2 time penalties added.

The 9-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare had competed to the 4*-S level with Frida, who was honest with Lucienne when she went to inquire: she was strong, opinionated, and had a small cyst on her stifle that wouldn’t cause any veterinary concerns, but was nonetheless somewhat of a risk. Lucienne liked the mare and trusted the recommendation of the friend who’d sent her the horse, and, as she puts it, “From a vetting perspective, it makes her not easy to sell, and I spoke with the breeder, Helen Rydberg Larsson, who sounded sincere. I am somebody who if the horse is staying sound at the level, I’m willing to take a bit of a risk.”

That risk has paid off in a big way so far. Lucienne traveled to Montana for the Rebecca Farm 4*-L this summer, which would have been the mare’s first effort at the 4*-L level. “It served the purpose of giving a really nice step up to four-long,” she elaborated. “What I learned about her in Montana was that she can stay the distance, because it was just over 11 minutes. Though, obviously today was slightly shorter at 10 [minutes], it showed me that she was a proper four-long prospect and hopefully a good five-star prospect. She’s gritty enough, but she’s only a nine-year-old, so I don’t want to get too greedy.”

It’s a bit of a different adventure for Lucienne, who like most of her fellow pros prefers to produce horses from a younger age. She prefers that they have some familiarity with the sport, but it wouldn’t be often she’d buy a horse going 4* already. She’s also of different breeding than what Lucienne’s typically ridden. “I don’t have any experience at all with the breeding. She’s by Corporal VDL, but I have to say, it seemed the stallion seems to stamp a very brave brain, following some of the others by him, so that’s interesting. And this mare — if I could create a type for me, I really like her because she’s narrow and quick-thinking and for me, I like that. It’s a real privilege to sit on when they’re on side.”

“She wouldn’t be the scopiest, but she’s got a hell of a lot of heart,” Lucienne described, speaking to her ride today. “I was in the start box thinking, ‘do I go for the clear, or do I go for the fast clear?’ And I thought, ‘I might as well set off to try and hit the first few minute markers, and then I’ll just see what happens.’ I think we’ve got see how she jumps tomorrow, see how she feels, and make a game plan for next year. But I’m really impressed with her. She can get quite strong cross country. So it’s just a case of trying to make sure that she stays with me and doesn’t run against me, and today she actually stayed with me.”

Phillip Dutton was on a foot-perfect round, he described, before coming to a surprising parting of ways with the Possante Group’s Possante, his first ride of the day. The error was due to a broken piece of his bit that happened at the perfectly imperfect time as he tried to turn from the ramped house at 17A to the angled cabins at B and C. He’d lost his ability to turn due to the tack malfunction, and as a result “Impy” got off his line and Phillip was tossed out the side door.

“It was one of those freakish things,” he said. “The leather strap attaching to the bit broke…I jumped the top one at the mansion, and then I started to bend it in six and then it let go. So I couldn’t turn.”

He was no worse for the wear, though, and went on to pilot Ann Jones, Ann Lapides, Caroline Moran and Neill Sites’ Denim to a quick clear with 6.4 time added, good for fourth overnight on a score of 33.9.

“The fitness and the galloping, he’s getting better and better,” Phillip described. “I set out, not super fast, knowing that there’s a lot of hills out there, but the further he went, I was able to press him and had a respectable time on him. If I had it again, I could’ve probably started out a bit quicker, but I was just a little bit wary about the last part and making sure I had enough horse to come home.”

Denim at this stage is gaining a great amount of experience, having done 4*-Ls at Boekelo, Blenheim and Tryon before this. “He’s always been such a good little horse,” Phillip said when asked what’s come on with him this year. “He’s sharp and spooky, and he’s very highly attentive to what’s going on around him. So he’s not the easiest all the time, but he knows his job now. He’s not that comfortable going fast. It sort of worries him a little, so it’s been a fair bit of time actually of, when we have good footing, getting the speed up and going quick and getting him so he’s more comfortable at 600 or 620 meters a minute. It’s coming along. He’s pretty experienced for a 10-year-old, but mentally he’s still a bit of a baby in a lot of ways. I think I’ve got to do the job that I don’t set up too much and just save time on the approach as well.”

Completing the top five are Caroline Pamukcu and the Double Sixteen Partnership’s HSH Double Sixteen, who were the only other clear inside the time to move up from 17th and remain on their dressage score of 35.2. They also turned in the quickest time, coming home 10 seconds under the optimum of 10:09.

“When he first moved up to four-star when he was eight, he did a couple and I knew he would get it,” Caroline said. “He just needed time and now he totally understands his job.” She had moved the Thoroughbred gelding up to the 5* level at Kentucky this spring, but retired on cross country when she felt he had tired. “I wasn’t as fit and he wasn’t as fit,” she recalled. “I’m the only one who really jumps and gallops the horses, so they weren’t as jumping fit as they needed to be. I know that now, and we are much more back to where we were. For the first couple of jumps…he’s such a trier and he’s a bit of an internalizer, so for the first bit I didn’t go too quick, and it’s so nice with Derek’s courses because he gives you the first couple of minutes to settle in. I was a little behind, and as soon as he took a breath after the second combination, I was like ‘ok let’s go.’”

Caroline’s spent time teaching “Six” that he doesn’t have to jump to high and can cover the distances despite his 15.3 stature. “HI was originally hard to get him to cover the distances because he would jump so far up, and now he understands that he’s supposed to cover the distances,” she said. “I knew he’d be special so it’s great to show everyone how special he is.”

So we now look ahead to what should be an exciting finale of the inaugural US Equestrian Open of Eventing. Boyd’s reclaiming of the second spot puts more pressure on Will, who would have had two rails and some time in hand with Off the Record before Boyd’s penalties were removed. Now, he won’t have anything but a few time penalties to spare. We’ll start with the 4*-S at 12:00 p.m. ET followed by the Open 4*-L at around 1:20 p.m., but first the Ground Jury will inspect all divisions that ran cross country yesterday beginning at 8:30 a.m.

I’ll be back with hopefully fewer words tomorrow, but until then, Go Eventing.

You can follow along live tomorrow on USEF Network on ClipMyHorse.TV. USEF members will be able to watch for free by linking their USEF account (instructions on how to do that are here). Other viewers can access the live stream via ClipMyHorse here. A pro team of commentators including Annie Bishop, Sara Kozumplik and Sinead Maynard have teamed up to bring you all of the updates from on-site. You can also follow Morven Park’s social pages (Facebook | Instagram | YouTube) for more content.

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Lastly for all of our competitors this weekend, while we have the incredible Shannon Brinkman shooting our photos here on EN, you can find ALL of the photos you want and then some from the crack team at Erin Gilmore Photography, your official moment capturers this weekend. Be sure to keep an eye on Erin Gilmore’s website for galleries for all competitors available to purchase.

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