William Coleman III (born May 8, 1983)[1] is an American equestrian.[2] At the 2012 Summer Olympics he competed in the Individual eventing and Team eventing.[3] At the age of six, Coleman's family moved to Charlottesville, VA[4] where he started riding in the hunt fields of Virginia Piedmont Hunt.[5] His father was an avid fox hunter and became his first show jumping coach.[6] After Coleman began to focus on eventing he started training with Karen and David O’Connor, beginning an apprentice with the pair after his graduation from Woodberry Forest School.[4][5]
In 2001 at the age of 18, Coleman was gold medalist at the North American Young Rider's Championship.[7] When he turned 19 he began competing at three-star level. That year he finished 8th on Second Hope at Fair Hill International CCI3*, earning a spot on the USEF's winter training list.[6] In 2003, Coleman and Fox In Flight won the under-25 Championships at the Bramham CCI3*, becoming the only US combination to ever do so.[8][9] The pair competed in their first CCI4* at Burghley, jumping a clean cross country round and finishing 26th overall.[8]
At the age of 20, Coleman was listed as a contender for a spot on the US Olympic team in Athens.[9] His Olympic prospect Fox In Flight was injured prior to qualifying, putting him out of contention for the 2004 Olympics.[6] In 2004 he rode Second Hope at Rolex Kentucky, where he finished as the top placed young rider.[8]
In 2005 Coleman began college at University of Virginia, leading to the sale of some of his top horses, as he took a step back from completing to focus on his education.[6] Away from competition, he continued to focus on his riding education, taking lessons from top riders such as Gerd Reuter, Anne Kursinski and Wiljan Laraakers.[citation needed]
2015 Rolex Kentucky CCI4* 6th Place Overall and USEF National Reserve Champion, Best Turned Out, Best Conditioned, and Land Rover Best Ride of the Day – OBOS O’Reilly[8]
2014 USEF NATIONAL LIST – Conair and OBOS O’Reilly[8]
