April 23, 2026 
In 2024, Will Coleman and Diabolo took the win in the CCI4*-S at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. On Thursday, they took the lead in the CCI5*-L.
Coleman and of the 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding rode to a 27.3 score on day one of dressage, despite two point penalty for halting at the wrong letter for the final salute.
“The first time you do a five-star in this kind of atmosphere, you can never sure be sure how the horse is going to cope,” he said. “Diabolo got a little excited when we got up here but to his credit he went in there and stayed with me and did his job. There are little things I would clean up, but I really, really adore this horse.
“I’m happy with today and happy with this horse,” Coleman concluded. “He’s trying for me and that’s all I can ask for.”
Partnered since 2022, Diabolo has always been a big mover and, according to Coleman, is a big “learner” too.
“He likes to be taught things,” continued Coleman. “He really wants to be a good boy but has a lot of anxiety because of that, so we’ve had to teach him to have confidence, and I think he’s starting to get that.
“He has a real presence about him and an energy that I think is pretty cool. He’s a unique horse, and now I have to trust and hope that I’ve prepared him … and hope that (my) preparation makes it feel comfortable to him. We’ll find out.”
USA’s Phillip Dutton and Possante sit in second after Thursday’s dressage test on 28.1, despite a spook in the first corner. New Zealand’s Tim Price, the sole representative of the husband–wife duo in Kentucky this year, slotted into third on 29.8 with Global Quest.
Dressage continues Friday, with Equiratings favorite Tom McEwen and Brookfield Quality, world number one Harry Meade on Grafennacht, and USA’s Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake still to come.
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