United States Eventing Association

Martin & His ‘Mega Horse’ Take the Lead in Cosequin CCI4*-S at Kentucky

Lexington, Ky.—April 25— In comparison to many of his other upper-level event horses, Commando 3, or “Connor” as he is known in the barn, is still a newer ride for Boyd Martin, but that hasn’t held the pair back.

Since their first FEI outing together in March of 2023, Martin and the 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Connor 48 x R-Adulgunde) have racked up three wins at the four-star level. And after the first day of dressage in the Cosequin CCI4*-S at the 2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, they are set up to potentially add another win to that record as they lead the field with a score of 28.9.

“I’ve been slogging away at this sport for 30 years riding any horse that comes my way and after all these years, I feel very blessed that now we’re able to select some of the best animals in the world,” Martin shared.

“Horses like Commando 3 rarely come on the market– they’re a needle in the haystack, so I am just very honored and privileged to be in a position to ride a horse of this class and quality.”

Prior to Yankee Creek Ranch, LLC purchasing Connor for Martin to ride, the gelding was produced by Swedish rider Louise Romeike who had the horse since he was 2. Martin, who has typically brought along his own upper-level mounts, noted there have been challenges to overcome with acquiring a going horse.

“It’s not very easy buying someone else’s horse. I had in the back of my mind that I wanted to have him as a potential Olympic horse, so I had to get going with him real quick. My second or third event was a four-star short and my fourth event was a four-star long, but it’s not really your horse until about a year later. But that horse is such a class animal, that even as I was figuring him out, we still ticked the boxes and jumped a lot of big courses.”

He finally felt like the connection with Connor was beginning to blossom near the end of the 2023 season, putting him in a wonderful position for 2024. Feeling that relationship develop put Martin’s mind at ease a bit.

“It’s a big process,” he said. “Buying a mega horse often doesn’t work out. You think if you buy a Ferrari, then you are off to the races, and it's often not the case. It’s a huge amount of pressure and slightly scary. They’re expensive as hell and there is a good chance that you are a different rider from the last rider, so it is a nerve-wracking process.”

Martin describes Connor’s quirky personality as similar to a rockstar.

“He can be a bit of a primadonna,” he joked. “He loves people doting over him and then when he is feeling fresh, he will find any excuse to jump around a bit, but he’s a horse that just has so much quality that you sort of put up with his antics and know that he is a champion.”

Before Martin and Connor, who were the second-to-last pair to compete today, slid into the lead, it looked like it was going to be “The Will Coleman Show” after Coleman took the early lead aboard the Off the Record Syndicate's 15-year-old Holsteiner gelding, Off the Record (VDL Arkansas x Drumogoland Bay). Their score of 30.1 held all morning long until Coleman finally bested himself near the end of the division by just fractions of a point with his second mount, Diabolo.

While Off the Record, aka “Timmy,” and Coleman have quite the seasoned partnership together, having completed three five-stars together and being the first ever U.S. pair to win the CCIO4*-S at the 2021 CHIO Aachen (Germany), Coleman’s relationship with the Diabolo Group’s 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Diarado x Roulett M) is still fairly new.

In 2023, the pair had a third-place finish in the CCI4*-S at Morven Park in October, followed by a third-place finish in the CCI4*-L at TerraNova in November. The CCI4*-S at Kentucky seemed like the perfect path for Diabolo in preparation for his move up to the five-star level.

“[Kentucky] has a real championship atmosphere,” noted Coleman. “He is still a relatively new horse for us, so for him to get that experience in the main arena and around the Kentucky Horse Park, it’s an experience that you can’t really duplicate in many other places in the world. It’s going to help me, I think, know how I want to prepare him going forward and get a sense of where we are at in terms of his readiness for big-time events, five-star events, or championship events down the road.”

With his sights set on the 2024 Paris Olympics, Coleman felt the four-star division at Kentucky was the best decision for Timmy’s ramp-up to hopefully being called upon to represent the U.S. later this summer.

“I think everybody has a little bit of a different approach, both in terms of how they want to put themselves forward for selection whether they think they are going to make a stronger case for themselves doing the five-star versus the four,” said Coleman. “I think you just make the best decision based on your horses and what is going to make them be at their best and then the selection stuff is out of our hands.”

Coleman was set to compete the 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding Chin Tonic HS (Chin Champ x Wildera), who is owned by Hyperion Stud LLC, in the CCI4*-S as well, however he opted to withdraw the gelding after an issue with his carpal sheath arose.

Coleman stated, "With so much riding on this year, this may seem to have been a difficult decision to make, but it honestly wasn’t. It never is a hard decision to do right by your horse, and protecting them from a potential injury is a responsibility I take very seriously, regardless of our aspirations."

Helpful Links

• LRK3DE 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