JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Will Coleman and his horse Diabolo will no longer compete for the US Eventing Team this year, US Equestrian announced Friday.
It has been a tumultuous 24 hours for Coleman. The Ocala-based equestrian made a last minute switch from his horse Off the Record to Diabolo after Diabolo's performance impressed the team during training camp. Then in Paris, Diabolo presented with a likely abscess in his hoof.
US Equestrian says Diabolo trotted completely sound prior to flying to Paris.
Chef d’Equipe Bobby Costello released a statement, saying that Coleman, his wife, Diabolo's groom and the team vet and farrier were all "diligent and tireless" in treating Diabolo, and he is now sound, but he still will not compete.
"We felt after weighing the risk, it was not in Diabolo’s or the team’s best interest for him to move forward with the competition this week. We’re all truly devastated for Will and his entire team," Costello said.
Coleman will be replaced by alternate Liz Halliday and her horse Nutcracker.
Costello's full statement is below:
“The last 48 hours have truly been tough for our team, but particularly for Will Coleman. Off The Record looked well in training camp, but Will’s direct reserve, Diabolo, continued to impress and was physically in such great condition, so we made the decision to place him into the team roster before moving to the venue. Diabolo trotted up 100% sound prior to shipping from training camp and arrived at the venue happy and fit. Unfortunately, shortly after settling into stabling he showed significant signs of discomfort and the team immediately got to work to address a potential abscess in the right front foot. Team Farrier Beck Ratte, Dr. Susan Johns, Diabolo’s groom Hailey Burlock, and Will’s wife, Katie, were so diligent and tireless in treating Diabolo and he did in fact trot up sound last night. With that said, we felt after weighing the risk, it was not in Diabolo’s or the team’s best interest for him to move forward with the competition this week. We’re all truly devastated for Will and his entire team. It takes so much work to get to this moment and it’s just such an unfortunate turn of events. We’ve got to look forward though, and with that said, we’re heading into this competition with four competitive horses, and l still feel very confident in this team’s ability to be successful here in Paris.”
