Will Coleman made Derek di Grazia’s cross-country course look easy (even though it wasn’t) as the rider and his veteran, Off the Record, were able to hold their lead from dressage during the debut of the U.S. Open of Eventing Final.
Timmy, as the horse is known, simply sailed around the 4-Star Long route at the Morven Park International Equestrian Center in Virginia Saturday adding nothing to his 25.1 penalty score from Friday as he finished a comfortable six seconds within the optimum time of 6 minutes, 40 seconds. Will had two fences in hand going into Sunday’s show jumping, with Great Britain’s Lucienne Bellissimo moving up from eighth after dressage to second on a score of 33.5, which included two time penalties aboard Kitsch Couture HBK.
Lucienne Bellissimo and Kitsch Couture HBK. (U.S. Eventing Photo)
But then the ground jury reversed two flag penalties on Boyd Martin and Liz Halliday’s former ride, Miks Master C, putting them second on 28.7 penalties and moving Lucienne down to third. Boyd was also in the top 10 with his other mount, Shanroe Cooley, eighth on 35.9 with 6.8 time penalties. This horse also previously was competed by Liz, who is still recovering from a traumatic brain injury she suffered in a fall last year.
Will believes it’s Timmy’s first time at Morven, so the rider admitted he was “sort of shooting from the hip” in his approach to the challenge of the day.
Will Coleman and Off the Record in front of the Morven Park Mansion. (Photo Devyn Trethewey for U.S. Equestrian)
“I don’t really think I got it right,” he mused.
“I got down here a little too early. He left the start box, he was just a freight train for the first three or four minutes. He’s such a good boy. It doesn’t really matter, it seems, how good our approach is, he just finds a way through the flags. He’s an amazing horse, he knows his job and sometimes I really, truly feel like I’m just a passenger.”
Will also moved up to sixth from seventeenth after dressage with the promising mare Very Dignified, who had no time penalties in her score of 35.4.
“I’m thrilled for Dora and her supporters. It’s been sort of a slow process with her to this point. I always targeted this as our step up. She’s not the kind of horse you pull the trigger on every weekend, but I decided we would do it today. She was amazing. I’d never really opened her up before She really goes, but she’s another one that just seems to fight for it. She’ll get better, she needs to get a little more rideable, but she’s a lovely mare.”
Aside from the leader, the only other rider who finished within the time was Caroline Pamukcu on HSH Double Sixteen, who rose to fifth from seventeenth and is on 25.2 penalties. So it’s a very tight race at the top.
Phillip Dutton, who had a fall earlier in the day with Possante, bounced back during the afternoon on Denim to stand fourth, just 0.4 penalties back of Lucienne. Sharon White, second after dressage with Claus 63, had a refusal at the second part of the Park Question obstacle to drop to eleventh on 49.6 penalties.
Phillip Dutton and Denim. (U.S. Eventing Photo)
Click here for cross-country results
