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Patience is often framed as a luxury—something you afford yourself only after success is secured. For U.S. event rider Will Coleman, it has become a skill learned the hard way, sharpened over time. Patience is now central to how he develops horses.
“I really don’t have set timelines with any horse anymore,” Coleman says. “I kind of just go as fast as I feel the horse is ready to do what he’s being asked to do.”
That mindset marks a clear shift from the pressure-heavy early years of a professional career, when ambition and urgency can quietly take the lead. Coleman is candid about that evolution. With experience, he has learned not only to recognize the temptation to push, but to resist it—especially when external expectations begin to creep in.
Letting Go of the Clock
Early in a rider’s career, timelines often feel unavoidable. Championships loom. Owners hope to see progress. A competitive string needs to be filled. It becomes easy to view development as something that can—and should—be scheduled.
Coleman acknowledges how persuasive that mindset can be.
“You can sort of get tempted to shoehorn a horse into a spot to fill in your roster,” he says.
That temptation, he’s learned, rarely ends well. Horses don’t move through their education on predictable schedules, and forcing them to do so often creates problems that surface later. By stepping away from rigid expectations, Coleman has found that horses develop more honestly, with fewer setbacks and more confidence.
In the long run, he believes, patience is both kinder and more effective.
Experience Changes the Equation
Coleman’s shift toward patience came from time in the saddle, campaigns that went well and others that didn’t, and the gradual realization that pressure applied in the wrong places tends to land on the horses.
“When I was younger, I put a lot of pressure on myself in sort of the wrong ways,” he says. “And I think it sometimes translated to putting too much pressure on the horses.”
That recognition marks a turning point. Rather than measuring success by how quickly a horse reached a certain level, Coleman began to focus on how well a horse understood the work, how confident it felt doing it, and whether it was enjoying the process.
Those questions, he says, matter more than any calendar deadline.
Doing Right by the Horse
Coleman has learned that patience pays off.
“Doing right by the horses is always rewarded in the end,” he says.
That doesn’t mean moving slowly for the sake of moving slowly. It means reading the horse in front of you, physically and mentally, and allowing development to unfold at the pace that makes sense for that individual. Sometimes that pace aligns neatly with competition goals. Often, it doesn’t.
Coleman is clear that this approach can be challenging, particularly at the top of the sport, where expectations are high and opportunities feel fleeting. But over time, he has found that resisting the urge to rush produces better outcomes in overall longevity.
Redefining Progress
One of the quieter consequences of Coleman’s evolution is how he defines progress. Improvement is no longer tied solely to results or rankings, but to the quality of the training itself.
“I still want to be competitive,” he says. “But I think I’ve just become happier trying to train my horses well. And then what comes with that competitively is sort of a bonus.”
That reframing allows space for growth without constant self-judgment. It also reduces the emotional stakes of any single performance, creating a steadier environment for both horse and rider.
Coleman describes this shift as part of a broader maturation process, one that many top riders experience if they stay in the sport long enough. Over time, winning becomes less about validation and more about alignment: between rider, horse, and the work required.
Patience as a Learned Skill
Perhaps the most important insight Coleman offers is that patience is not innate. It’s learned.
It develops through mistakes, through hindsight, and through the humility to admit that earlier approaches may have missed something essential. For Coleman, patience has become inseparable from good horsemanship.
“I still have a long way to go,” he says. “I’m not a finished product.”
That perspective, grounded in curiosity and restraint, has reshaped how Coleman approaches every horse in his program. By removing artificial timelines and allowing development to dictate itself, he has found a steadier, more sustainable path forward that respects the horse’s experience as much as the rider’s ambition.
In a sport that often rewards speed, patience may be the quiet skill that lasts the longest.
Want more insight from Will Coleman? Listen to episode 470 of The Plaidcast and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform for conversations with the most influential voices in the equestrian world.
