Will Coleman’s horse Diabolo, who began his eventing career in Australia with Stuart Tinney initially in the saddle and was then produced by Stuart’s daughter Gemma, has been nominated for the US Horse of the Year 2024 Award.
Diabolo, a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding, moved from Australia to the USA in late 2022 but really started to make an impression on the US eventing in 2024 after a settling in period to the northern hemisphere.
Will and Diabolo won the CCI4*-S at Defender Kentucky in April, resulting in Diabolo being nominated as Will’s direct horse for the Paris Olympic Games. Unfortunately, a minor injury prevented them from competing at Versailles, but they went on to win the $60,000 Adequan Advanced Final at the USEA American Eventing Championships in August and capped off the competition year by winning the CCI4*-S at Plantation Field International in September.
Diabolo is joined by three other nominations for US International Horse of the Year in Caracole de la Roque (showjumping), Diamond Dunes (dressage) and Floratina (Para-dressage).
The International and National Horses of the Year will be announced at the 2024 SmartPak/USEF Horse of the Year Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 25th 2025 during the 2025 US Equestrian Annual Meeting in Lexington, Kentucky.
Horses are nominated by their USEF affiliate organization or USEF breed or discipline committee, and the finalists are selected by the USEF Awards Committee. The final Horses of the Year are determined by member voting, and you can vote here (USEF account holders only)
Watch our pre-Olympic interview with Will Coleman here
