A nosenet might not be the first thing you expect to see in a five-star dressage test, but Will Coleman had good reason for fitting one to his Defender Burghley ride, Very Dignified, today (4 September).
“She has some allergenic symptoms; she suffered from IAD [Inflammatory Airway Disease] pretty bad when we got her back to the States for the first time,” explained Will.
“I’ve only just started experimenting. She can be a snorter, like she will be clearing her airway a lot when I ride her. Some of that is maybe nerves, but she has a very sensitive nasal passage.”
Will recently started riding in a nosenet to ease the 11-year-old mare’s symptoms.
“We’ve really only been using it for a few weeks, but I do think it helped her. She isn’t snorting as much, and she seems to be more settled in it. It might [stop] some things from getting in her nose and keep her from being so fixated on that.”
‘She’s an alpha female’
Will was asked why he brought the mare to Burghley — which is commonly referred to as the toughest five-star cross-country track in the world — for her debut at this level.
“I thought about submitting myself for a psychiatric evaluation upon arriving here,” he joked.
“She’s 11 years old, and we felt like she’s ready to contest one. This season it was either Burghley or Pau, and I think in some ways Burghley will suit her better.
“She’s an aggressive fighter mentality; an alpha female. She has a lot of spirit and a lot of blood in the way that she goes cross-country, and I’m hoping that she brings that to the course tomorrow.
“She’s going to have to. It’s a big track and 11 minutes 20 seconds around the toughest terrain in the world.”
Will’s priority is to give the mare a positive experience.
“It’s my job to sort of look after her out there tomorrow and make sure that she leaves a better horse than she arrived.
“That’s maybe not so result-driven, but I want to give her the best ride I can and see how she copes. We’ll learn a lot about each other.”
A special place
Will also made his five-star debut at Burghley.
“It was a long time ago — I was 20 and had no idea what to expect. I came here and fell in love with eventing because of this place.
“It’s the crown jewel of our sport. It represents all the things that makes eventing so special. It’s always a privilege to come and ride here.”
Difficult preparation
The mare’s preparation has been less than straightforward, with Will spending much of the summer focused on his World Championship campaign with Diabolo, with whom he finished fourth individually and helped the USA to team bronze at Aachen last month.
“It’s been less than ideal,” he admitted.
Will’s wife and team members including Morgan Booth and Meg Pellegrini kept the horses in work at home while he was away in Germany for 10 days.
“[Very Dignified] was on that list for the worlds, so she was kind of going through all the same sort of galloping and training that my other two horses were going through.
“In some ways, I think [being away] was maybe a good thing, a chance to take a breath and relax, and settle her brain before she made the trip over here.
“I don’t know how the preparation is going to turn out, we’re going to find out at the end of the weekend, but she’s in good condition, and she’s as ready as I could make her.
“Sometimes that just has to be good enough. We have to see how it works out.”
Images by Tim Wilkinson
