After declaring that he was not going to go fast on Chin Tonic HS in Saturday’s final cross-country phase of the $100,000 Stirling Venture Capital Grand-Prix Eventing Showcase at Bruce’s Field in Aiken, South Carolina, Will Coleman changed his mind and went for it. As the final rider to go in the class and the leader after Friday’s show jumping and dressage phases, Coleman had a healthy 21-second cushion that did not require him to speed around. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, I think he’s lying to us,” the announcer stated as Coleman and “Chin” galloped around on Capt. Mark Phillips’ cross-country course, weaving in and out of the eight show rings as quickly as they could. “Will said he wasn’t planning on going fast, and now he’s speeding along!” 

The spectators roared louder as Coleman and Chin rounded the final turn to the last two fences: the Aiken Farmer’s Market red table fence and the Aiken Horse Park keyhole. Coleman stopped the clock at 4 minutes, 30 seconds—6 seconds over the optimum time but still plenty quick enough to earned the win, and make a little history in the process. Their total score of 19.7 is the lowest score ever achieved in grand prix eventing history, and the pair became the first to win the event two years in a row, repeating their 2024 victory. 

“[Chin’s] got a really big stride, so he covers ground naturally,” Coleman said of the 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Chin Champ—Wildera, Quinar Z), owned by Hyperion Stud LLC. “Honestly, it would have felt almost more disruptive to try and slow him down more than we did. He was enjoying himself, so I just let him go, and it was nice.” 

In addition, the weekend marked Chin’s return to competition after an injury last spring sidelined him for the remainder of 2024, taking the pair out of Olympic consideration. 

“It’s great to have him back—he’s such a quality animal, and I feel really lucky that Chin is in the barn,” Coleman said.

Coleman also repeated his 2024 second-place victory this year, riding his veteran Off The Record, a 16-year old Irish Sport Horse gelding (VDL Arkansas—Drumagoland Bay, Ard Ohio) owned by the Off The Record Syndicate. Coleman has been riding “Timmy” since the gelding was a 5-year-old. The pair showed their experience, includes being the first American team ever to win the Aachen CCIO4*-S (Germany) in 2021, by turning in the fastest cross-country round of the day (4:15—easily under the optimum time of 4:24) to hold onto second place. 

“He was awesome in all three phases,” Coleman said. “At this stage, I think Timmy actually rises to the occasion at events like this. Getting him into an atmosphere, around a crowd—I think he really enjoys that. I think the horses like feeling important, like everyone’s watching them, and I want to nurture that.”

Coleman put himself in the first and second slots after Friday’s dressage and show jumping phases. Chin received a dressage score of 17.3—a new venue record score—and was were double clear over FEI-course designer Michel Vaillancourt’s 15-effort show jumping course. Timmy scored a 26.0 in the dressage phase and was also double-clear in Friday afternoon’s show jumping. 

Rounding out the top three Saturday was four-time Olympian Boyd Martin with Yankee Creek Ranch LLC’s Commando 3, whose time on the cross-country field was 4:32. Coming into cross-country, Martin sat in fourth place after a fault-free finish in show jumping and a dressage phase score of 27.7. Martin’s cross-country plan was to be as neat and tidy as he could to save as much time over the course as possible. 

“He was brilliant today,” Martin said. “I didn’t quite know what to expect. He’s a bit of a spooky horse, and when I worked him this morning, he was spooking and shying at the jumping castle—I thought I’d be in for a tricky ride. But as soon as we were on course, he was just fantastic. He’s really seasoned, and I feel like this could be a big year for him.”

Although Martin and crowd favorite Fedarman B, owned by the Annie Goodwin Syndicate, had an unexpected parting of ways at Fence 7 on cross-country, Martin remained in good spirits. The pair were sitting in third place overall going into the cross-country phase and were in contention for the win. Martin and “Bruno” were the winners of the 2022 $50,000 Aiken Grand-Prix Eventing Festival. 

“It just goes to show—you can’t take anything for granted in horse sport,” Martin said. “Looking back, maybe I needed to do a bit more cross-country schooling with him. I felt like I got there about right, but he had a bit of a spook at the corner, and I popped off the side. Luckily, it was a nice, soft landing, thanks to the synthetic footing.”

New Zealand eventer Monica Spencer claimed fourth place with her off-the-track Thoroughbred Artist, who won the High-Point Thoroughbred Award, and Spencer also won the new Liz Halliday Trophy as the top lady rider of the competition. Halliday is the only person to have won the Grand-Prix Eventing Showcase three times on three different horses: in 2019 on Fernhill By Night, in 2020 on Deniro Z, and in 2023 on Miks Master C. Halliday is recovering from a traumatic brain injury sustained in August at the 2024 USEA American Eventing Championships (Kentucky), and exhibitors at Bruce’s Field said they have in their thoughts. 

Over the course of the two days of grand prix eventing competition, the sun shone brightly, teasing everyone with its warmth and promise of an early spring. Spectators arrived early on Saturday morning to enjoy several demonstrations offered prior to the beginning of the cross-country phase. At 10 a.m., Martin hosted a cross-country course walk that drew more than 100 spectators. 

“This is the most challenging course we’ve seen here,” Martin told the crowd, who followed him through the eight show rings as he explained his plan for the course. “The biggest challenge is to not fall off and maintain your speed with the most efficient lines. It’s going to be very hard to get the optimum time.”

Also before cross-country, spectators were invited to the show jumping arena to watch as FEI-driver and Aiken local Taylor Bradish and fellow driver Rebecca Gutierrez gave a singles carriage-driving demonstration. Olympic eventers Austin O’Connor, of Ireland, and Jennie Brannigan had a chance to test their new driving skills over a combined cones and hazards course with Bradish and Gutierrez on the back of their carriages as their navigators. After that, Bradish and Gutierrez took over the reins and made quick work of the course, showing the audience how it’s done at their driving competitions.  

Since its inception in 2019, the Aiken Grand-Prix Eventing Showcase has been referred to as “an event like no other,” offering a format that is unique within the U.S. 

“You also get a real challenge here,” Coleman said. “Riding Mark’s lines in a condensed setting at a reasonably fast speed is great for your skills. The dressage is first-rate, with great judges and a fantastic atmosphere. The show jumping with Michel [Vaillancourt] is a proper test. So early in the season, you get a really good read on where you are. [For me] with two experienced horses, that’s invaluable.”

“It’s an interesting experience, riding cross-country under these conditions,” Olympian Phillip Dutton added. “I always encourage aspiring riders who want to improve and become the best to get out here and be a part of it. It’s not particularly hard on the horses, but it is quite intensive riding. It’s a great experience for both horses and riders.”

See complete scores here.