United States Eventing Association

Lexington, Ky.—April 22—Will Coleman’s competition history with the 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding Diabolo (Diarado x Roulett M) has had some major highs and some major lows. The horse had a hard time acclimating to life in the United States after Coleman imported him from Australia in 2023, but every time the rider brought him out he seemed to perform.

2024 was shaping up to look like a great year for Diabolo, having won the $60,000 Adequan USEA Advanced Final at the USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds and the CCI4*-S at Plantation Field (Unionville, Pennsylvania), but the horse suffered an injury that fall that put him out for most of 2025. Coleman eased him back into work in September of 2025, and just two months later he was back to winning at the CCI4*-S level at The Event at TerraNova (Myakka City, Florida) as they prepared for the horse’s first five-star outing here at Kentucky.

“The first time you do a five-star at a place like this with this kind of atmosphere, you’re never totally sure how your horse is going to cope,” noted Coleman after his dressage test, which puts him in the lead after the first day of dressage on a score of 27.3, which included a 2-point error for halting at the wrong letter on the final centerline. “Diabolo got a little excited,” he said. “We got up here, even my final warm up, I didn't feel like I totally had him. But to his credit, he went in there, and he really stayed with me, and he did his job as best he could. There's little things I'd love to clean up, but I can't be any more proud of him, and I just really, really adore this horse.”

He described the Diabolo Group’s gelding as eager and as a horse who likes to be taught things, which has worked well as they continued to get to know one another. He felt the horse’s dressage test today was the perfect example of that, as they currently sit in the lead of the five-star field on a score of 27.3.

“With any horse it's just about building up trust and communication and that takes time,” he said. “I think it takes time for him to adjust, and for us to learn him and learn what he needs from us. I would say now you're sort of seeing it come to fruition a little bit, but the weekend's still not done, and we’ve got to see how the rest of the event goes. But happy with today and happy with this horse. He's trying for me, and that's all I can ask for.”

Looking ahead to Saturday, Coleman is putting his faith in the preparation they did in the leadup to the event.

“I guess I really try to trust that I've prepared, and I go out there, and I just try to give him what he needs for every question that Derek's put out there,” he shared. “The drops are a little bigger than he's ever experienced, the course is a little longer, and the jumps might be a little bigger in places, but you just hope that your preparation is gonna make that feel comfortable, and we'll find out.”

If there is one area on cross-country that Coleman expects for there to be issues, it’s making the time.

“The time has become increasingly difficult to get here, and you can see why,” he said. “It just doesn't give you a lot of places to really make up any time. And the questions that he's put out are pretty technical. I think he gives you a nice beginning, but that coffin comes up a little quicker on that turn, and then it feels like we've got big, scopey questions followed by very, very nimble rideability questions. It's really just a test of your training and a test of your horse and partnership, and that's what it’s supposed to be."

Less than one point behind Coleman and Diabolo is another five-star first-time horse, Possante, ridden by Phillip Dutton and owned by The Possante Group.

“Overall I was very pleased,” Dutton said of his test with the 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Nameles R x Wendelien) which earned them a score of 28.1. “It’s pretty unique [the Rolex Arena], especially for horses who haven’t been in here before or come into an arena like this. He started off not that great and spooked in the corner, but from then on he was really good. The dressage seems reasonably easy for the horse, so it’s more a case of me keeping him calm and riding him well.”

He feels the particular test they are riding this weekend was very horse friendly, while still giving the rider the opportunity to show off the training done at home.

“Certainly doing the shoulder-in on the quarter line is a little bit more of a test that holds you there, and then the half pass right across the arena takes a little bit more education from your horse as well,” he shared. “The walk is right in the middle of it all, which with a lot of horses, is a bit hard to do when they're walking like that. So I think it does test the education and the training of the horse. Pretty nice test, maybe one of the easier ones at the five-star.”

Closing out the day in third is New Zealand’s Tim Price riding Lance and Diana Morrish’s 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare Global Quest (Metropole x Broadford Star) on a score of 29.8.

Dressage starts tomorrow for the five-star at 1 p.m. EST.

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