United States Eventing Association

‘He’s More Than Deserving.’ Off The Record and Will Coleman Crowned Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S Champions at Defender Kentucky

Lexington, Ky.—April 27— Phillip Dutton couldn’t refrain from laughing as William Coleman described the start of his partnership with the now 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Off The Record (VDL Arkansas x Drumagoland Bay).

“It was definitely humble beginnings,” Coleman said as he thought back to when he first partnered up with “Timmy” as a 5-year-old. “He was a pretty hardy young horse, but he always displayed a real knack for the cross-country and I think that’s what kept us going with him. He's not the most natural in the other phases, but he has an incredible work ethic. I think as our relationship improved, we started to find a little more harmony in how we were communicating. He started to really blossom, and he's really been a joy to have. He sort of has his own style, but his character is really what makes him a good horse. He's just a really genuine guy, and he honestly has a conscience about trying to do the right thing, especially in competition. So that's a wonderful quality.”

Over the course of their 10-year partnership, Coleman and Timmy, who is owned by the Off The Record Syndicate, have made quite the name for themselves, representing the U.S. on the world stage on countless occasions, completing four five-stars, winning the iconic CHIO Aachen CCIO4*-S, and now with the addition of their 2025 Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S victory today, they have had 15 top-5 finishes together at the four-star level and above.

Coleman and Timmy held onto the lead throughout the weekend, starting at the top of the leaderboard following dressage with a score of 21.8, a record-breaking score on the flat for the gelding. Even after adding 7.2 time penalties to their score on cross-country on Saturday, the duo still had enough of a lead to have a rail in hand, which they would use today when they had a rail down at 9A. But their quick trip around Steve Stephens’ track would keep their penalties just low enough to still hold the lead over the second-place pair and name them as this year’s four-star victors with a score of 33.0.

“It feels great,” Coleman said of the win. “Honestly, he's been a horse that has often been a bridesmaid in my barn. If I have two horses at an event, I often have Off The Record be my first to go, because he's such a reliable cross-country horse. He's sort of like an old shoe, I just know him so well, and he gives me a great feel for the course. So being in that position a lot, he doesn't often get to come home as the winner. But this weekend, he was kind of my only horse here in this competition– the mare that I had here [ Very Dignified], the plan was probably not to run the cross-country because it's a super strong track, which it was. But he's just a sensational boy, and I'm just really pleased that he gets a chance to wear the crown after this weekend. He's more than deserving.”

This is a repeat victory for Coleman, who won this class last year on Diabolo, and while competing at the Kentucky Horse Park never seems to lose its luster for any competitor, he found himself more on the relaxed side going into the final phase this morning.

“I took a nap by the warmup before I got on,” he said with a smile. “I just felt good. It was a beautiful day and a great crowd. I really just enjoyed the whole weekend. I’ve had a lot of fun. I thought Steve Stephens built a fabulous track. I think it's important that every day matters at a three-day event, and the show jumping designer has a lot to do with finishing it off on a good note. I thought he set a really great test for the four-star class. And so I thought it was an exciting day, and I just enjoyed every minute of it.”

Dutton came into the show jumping phase in second and third aboard Possante and Denim, respectively. He picked up minor time penalties with each, but the 1.6 penalties he added with his first ride of the day, the 10-year-old Holsteiner gelding Denim (Dinken x Celia II) who is owned by Ann Jones, Ann Lapides, Caroline Moran, and Neill Sites, were just enough to drop the pair down to fourth.

That round helped him make some final tweaks to his plan when he came back down the ramp into the Rolex Stadium aboard his second-placed ride, Possante, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Namelus R x Wendelien) owned by the Possante Group. They added just 0.4 time penalties to their final score to finish just 0.9 points behind Coleman and Timmy on a score of 33.9.

“Obviously we all earmarked this event early on in the year,” noted Dutton. “So it's kind of a relief to be sitting up here and go away having a good result here. It's kind of ironic—-my best jumper is Denim, and he's the one that moved back down because I was too slow on the round, but I couldn't be more pleased with Possante and the way he jumped. The show jumping hasn't been easy for us.”

Unlike many other East Coast eventers who make their way to Ocala, Florida, or Aiken, South Carolina for the winter eventing season, Dutton and his family spend their winters in Wellington, Florida, with top international show jumper Lauren Hough polishing up on their show jumping skills.

“Lauren has been helping me through thick and thin with it,” he continued. “You don’t always have gradual improvement— you have some ups and downs, and she’s been incredible. Added to that, she’s a great friend of Evie [his wife] and mine, and it's not always easy being a coach and a great friend, but we’ve found a way to make it all blend well. She’s given me a good program to work on with this horse and it showed up today. Let’s hope it keeps going.”

Early on in the class, it looked like the time might be hard to make, but there were a handful of pairs who proved it was possible. Canada’s Jessica Phoenix and Charlotte Schickedanz’s 12-year-old Trakehner mare Freedom GS (Humble GS x Friedel GS), who came into today in fourth place, were one of six pairs to post a double-clear round, which would bump them up just above Dutton and Denim to snag the final position in the top three.

Phoenix has had a standout start to her spring season, bringing home first and second in the CCI2*-S at The Event at TerraNova (Myakka City, Florida) in March and placing in the top 5 in the CCI3*-L and bringing home first and third in the CCI4*-S at Ocala International (Ocala, Florida) in April. This top-3 finish in this highly competitive class just adds to the list of accolades she’s picked up at the start of 2025.

“It's definitely been an amazing spring season for us,” she reflected. “We came away from the Paris Olympicsjust really feeling like we needed to hit the dressage home. We just needed to get the horses stronger and me stronger and getting me more confident with where I really need to sit with my body type and what works best for my position”

Phoenix began working with Canadian-born U.S. dressage rider Ashley Holzer, which she claimed has been a game changer in her program and the performance of all of her horses.

“She just really understands how to teach me and how to explain exactly where I need to be to help the horses the most. It feels like the communication with all of my horses has gotten so much better, so I'm incredibly thankful for that,” she noted. “They've always been really strong in the show jumping phase—Freedom GS, that's one of her favorite phases. Dressage is something that we've had to really work on, but she just absolutely loves cross-country and show jumping. So this spring to see the fruits of our hard work all winter really come out and see the horses so confident and happy is just pure joy.”

​Helpful Links

• K3DE Website
• USEA Prize List
• CCI5*-L Order of Go
• CCI4*-S Order of Go
• Schedule of Events
• Livestream
• Live Scores
• USEA’s Coverage
• Meet the Five-Star Field

Follow the USEA event coverage on social media!

Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok