Last weekend, Will Coleman, 26, of Gordonsville, VA, had a spectacular event aboard Twizzel, a 13-year-old Westphalian gelding owned by Tivoli Farm, at the Luhmuhlen CCI**** in Germany. A rollercoaster year has finally culminated in a fantastic four-star finish for this talented duo.

After Twizzel (Argentines x Lady Bedford) suffered an unfortunate injury at the Southern Pines Advanced Horse Trials in March, Coleman was forced to scratch his longtime partner from the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. Coleman was a featured rider for the 2009 event, and he graciously wrote about the ups and downs of equestrian competitions.Twizzel recovered strongly, and Coleman decided to head across the Atlantic to tackle the CCI**** at Luhmuhlen in Germany.

The trip was well worth it as Coleman and Twizzel had a sensational placing among world-class competition. Coleman stood in 16th place after dressage with a 47.8. Adding only 6.8 time faults on cross-country to his score moved him up to sixth. A superb double-clean show-jumping round bumped Coleman up one more place to finish a strong fifth place.

Capt. Mark Phillips' cross-country course proved to be a daunting challenge with only 17 of the 37 riders continuing on to show jumping. The cross-country course caused 15 eliminations and multiple riders electing to retire on course. To see complete results, visit the Luhmuhlen website.

Coleman and Twizzel have had a long journey with many bumps in the road, but with their fantastic performance this weekend they show promise as future international contenders.