Will Coleman began his riding career when he was just 6 years old, riding his Shetland Pony, TJ, in the Virginia hunt fields with family and dabbling in multiple disciplines. Coleman’s interest in eventing was cultivated when he attended a clinic with eventing greats Karen and David O’Connor and later went to work for them in the summers.

Coleman’s youth career reached a pinnacle in 2001 when he was the individual gold medalist at the North American Youth Championships. With his Irish Sport Horse, Fox In Flight, he became the first U.S. athlete to win the Bramham CCI4*-L in 2003. The pair made their CCI5*-L debut that same year with a completion at Burghley and were subsequently named to the U.S. Eventing Team short list for the 2004 Athens Olympics.

In 2012, Coleman and his Westphalian gelding Twizzel were part of the U.S. Eventing Team at the London Olympics. He had his first World Championship outing as part of the team for the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon, N.C. riding Tight Lines, owned by The Conair Syndicate.

Coleman made history in 2021, riding Off The Record, owned by Off The Record Syndicate LLC, to victory at the CCIO4*-S at CHIO Aachen, becoming the first American to ever win the prestigious event. The following year, the pair were part of the silver medal-winning U.S. team at the 2022 FEI Eventing World Championship in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy.

In 2022, Coleman was a USEF Equestrian of Honor and was awarded the William C. Steinkraus Trophy at the USEF Pegasus Awards.

Coleman and his wife Katie, a professional eventing and dressage rider, operate Will Coleman Equestrian based in Virginia and Florida.

Ariel Grald launched her international eventing career as part of the Area I team at the North American Youth Championships in 2004. In 2014, she was named to the USEF Under 25 Developing Riders List. That same year, she earned her first win at the FEI level, riding LBF Oleagh’s Image to first place in the CCI3*-S at Carolina International.

In 2014, Grald began her partnership with Leamore Master Plan, a then-five-year-old Irish Sport Horse owned by Annie Eldridge. The pair made their five-star debut together in 2019 at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5*-L, where they finished in 12th place. They went on to compete at the 2019 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, finishing 10th overall and as the highest-placed Burghley first timer. In 2021, Grald and “Simon” placed third at the Lumühlen CCI5*-L. In 2022, the pair won the Maryland CCI4*-S and finished 11th individually at the FEI Eventing World Championships in Pratoni, Italy.

Grald was a 2019 recipient of the Jaqueline B. Mars International Grant and was named to the USEF Development Training List in 2019 and 2020.

Boyd Martin, the son of Olympic speed skater Toy (Dorgan) Martin and Olympic cross-country skier Ross Martin, began riding at a young age in his native country of Australia. He made his debut at the CCI5*-L with a win at the 2003 Australian International Three-Day Event riding the Thoroughbred gelding True Blue Toozac.

He moved to the U.S. in 2007 to further his career as an eventing professional, serving as the assistant trainer to Olympian Phillip Dutton for two years before starting his own business. Martin began riding for the U.S. in 2009.

Martin is a three-time Olympian, having represented the U.S. in London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016, and Tokyo 2020. He is a four-time U.S. Eventing Team member for the FEI Eventing World Championship, including as a part of the silver medal-winning team in 2022 in Pratoni, Italy. With Pancho Villa, he was a member of the U.S. team that won gold at the 2015 Pan American Games, and in 2019, he won team and individual gold at the Pan American Games with Christine, Thomas, and Tommie Turner's Tsetserleg TSF.

Twice, Martin has been the USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Champion at the Kentucky Three-Day Event. First in 2019 with Tsetserleg TSF and again in 2021 with Christine, Thomas, Tommie, and his own, On Cue. In October 2021, he won the inaugural Maryland 5 Star with On Cue, becoming the first American to win a CCI5* since 2008.

Martin and his wife, professional dressage trainer and athlete, Silva Martin, own and operate Windurra USA in Pennsylvania.

Lauren Nicholson (née Kieffer) began riding at the age of 6 and competed in her first horse trials at the age of 12. As a high school graduation present, Kieffer participated in a week-long eventing summer camp with Olympians David and Karen O’Connor, which led to a six-year working student position. Her talent and work ethic helped her reach the top levels of the sport and represent her country in international championships.

Nicholson won team bronze in 2005 and team silver in 2007 at the North American Youth Championship with her Anglo-Arabian gelding, Snooze Alarm. She made her debut at the CCI5*-L level in 2010, when she and Snooze Alarm completed the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. She had continued success at the level with Veronica, placing second overall at the Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2014 and 2016 to win the USEF CCI5*-L National Championship. The pair also had top-ten finishes at CCI5*-L competitions at Pau (FRA) in 2014, Badminton (GBR) in 2018.

Nicholson acquired Snooze Alarm’s full-brother, Vermiculus, as an unbroke young horse and started his career at the beginner novice level in 2012. She brought him up the levels to his first CCI5*-L completion in 2018 at the Kentucky Three-Day Event, where they placed fifth. Since then, they’ve had top-ten finishes at the CCI5*-L level in 2019 at Kentucky and Burghley (GBR), in 2022 at Luhmühlen (GER), and in 2024 at Kentucky where they were the USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Champions.

Tamra “Tamie” Smith was a member of the U.S. Eventing Team that won gold at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, with Ellen and Alexandra Ahearn and Eric Markell’s German Sport Horse, Mai Baum. In 2021, Smith took Mai Baum to a top-10 finish in his CCI5*-L debut at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event. That year, they were named as the reserve for the U.S. Eventing Team for the Tokyo Olympics.

Smith has represented the U.S. in FEI Nations Cup competitions, including the CCIO4*-S at CHIO Aachen with Mai Baum and the CCIO4*-L at Boekelo, both in 2021.

Smith was the 2020 USEF CCI3*-L Eventing National Champion with Elliot-V at the Galway Downs International Event, and at the same event finished second in the CCI4*-L with Passepartout. In 2021, she and Mai Baum won the Grand Prix Eventing Showcase at Bruce’s Field. Smith went on to finish second in the CCI4*-S at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event and third at the Jersey Fresh CCI4*-L with Envogue. With Solaguayre California, Smith won the CCI3*-S at Red Hills International and the CCI3*-L at Jersey Fresh. She closed out the 2021 season with a win in the CCI3*-L at Galway Downs International with Maitanzer.

In 2022, Smith and Mai Baum competed in the Badminton Horse Trials CCI5* where they finished in ninth place. Smith was second and third in The Event at Rebecca Farm CCI4*-S with Solaguayre California and Danito, respectively. Smith and Mai Baum were second in the Great Meadows International CCI4*-S, then headed to the FEI Eventing World Championships in Pratoni, Italy, where they helped the U.S. team earn silver and finished ninth indivudally. Smith closed out the season with a win in the Morven Park CCI4*-L with Solaguayre California and a second-place finish at the Maryland 5 Star CCI5*-L with Danito. 

In 2023, Smith was first, second, and fifth in the Galway Downs Spring CCI4*-S with Mai Baum, Danito, and Solaguayre California, respectively. Smith and Mai Baum earned a historic win at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian^TM CCI5*-L as the first U.S. combination to win since 2008. 

Smith has trained horses and riders at her Next Level Eventing since 2005.