Coleman, The King of Clinical
There is no eventer in the sport right now performing with more precision and consistency than U.S. stalwart Will Coleman.
The inaugural US Equestrian Open of Eventing may well be dominated by a home hero who is yet to feature in the qualifiers. Looking at the global stage of eventing, there is no rider performing with more precision and consistency than U.S. stalwart Will Coleman.
Eventing has many challenges – multiple phases to master – and none is more testing than cross-country. To win, it may come down to fine margins, but a quick scan of any final leaderboard will show the other side of the story too. Scoring low on any day is tough, but scoring low on a consistent basis is almost unheard of for any top-level competitor, except one.
51% of Competitors Fail to Finish Below 60
At the top levels of the sport (4*/5*) over the past three seasons, over half (51%) of starters failed to post a finishing score below 60 penalties. Only 14% finished below a score of 40.
The U.S. Outlier
The competitor who "looks different" than any other rider on the global stage over the past two years, for all the right reasons, is Will Coleman.
Two years ago, Will started the 2023 season with an incredible finishing score of 19.4 (Chin Tonic HS, Carolina CCI4*-S). Starting with that result and over the next two seasons, Will contested the cross-country phase in 16 four- or five-star events. In 14 of those 16 runs, he finished on a sub-40 score. That’s a hit rate of 87.5% which is over 6 times the global average.
How He Compares
To be the best you have to beat the best. So how does “Clinical Coleman” compare to some of the other top riders in the sport that are also renowned for their precision and consistency?
Individual medalists from the Paris Olympics, Michael Jung and Laura Collett, are both known for being competitive every time they set foot on the international stage. They both boast a sub-40 rate of 48% – exceptional, but nothing close to Coleman’s current level.
The 2024 Aachen winner and the sport’s one and only female Olympic individual champion, Julia Krajewski, shows the closest top-level “balance” to the USA’s “King of Clinical.” Krajewski has a sub-40 rate of 70% which is still lower than Coleman, and she also has a 20% DNF (did not finish) rate.
What This Means?
The US Equestrian Open is an innovative new series that will not only elevate US equestrian sport, but it will reward both quality AND consistency. Phillip Dutton currently holds the series lead on 75 points, but if anyone is going to emerge as a real and persistent threat in 2025, then look no further than Will Coleman.
Series Standings at the End of 2024:
See the full series standings, updated after each qualifier, here.
For continual leaderboard updates, visit the official US Equestrian Open Series hub at usequestrianopen.org. The hub is also the best place for the most up-to-date series calendar as it's subject to change.
Stay connected with the latest news and standings on Facebook and Instagram, and follow US Equestrian on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X (Twitter). Use #USEquestrianOpen to join the conversation.
For Sport Department questions, please contact Christy Hawkins at USEquestrianOpen@usef.org.
For media inquiries about the US Equestrian Open Series, please contact Carly Weilminster at cweilminster@usef.org.
For sponsorship opportunities, contact Layson Griffin at lgriffin@usef.org.
