Eventer Caitlin Silliman is branching out on her own after seven years working for Boyd and Silva Martin at their Windurra USA.
Silliman will base her new business out of Will and Katie Coleman’s Tivoli Farm in Gordonsville, Va., and will also serve as an assistant rider to the couple.
Silliman said her decision happened quickly, but she decided the situation was right for her when Coleman mentioned he was looking for an assistant rider.
“I am going to have to move on from Boyd at some point; he has a huge program, and I’ve been so fortunate to be able to be his assistant trainer and ride so many horses for him,” she said. “I’m sort of ready now to start working on a string of my own event horses, and I don’t have any huge financial backing, so I think doing it with the help of Will will be a great situation.”
Silliman, Swarthmore, Pa., will bring her Rolex Kentucky CCI**** partner Catch A Star and her new ride, Vagabon de Champdoux, a horse she bought with the help of a syndicate from Will after he won the USEA Young Event Horse East Coast 5-year-old championship (Md.) last fall.
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“I don’t feel by any means that I was finished learning from Boyd and Silva,” she said. “I think I could probably stay here for the next 10 years and still be learning, but I think I have a lot to learn from Will and Katie, and I’m excited to dive into their program and see how they pick and train their horses, because I think Will has a very successful program as well. He’s watched me come up the levels, so he knows my riding. I’ve never ridden with him, but he’s trained with a lot of the same people.”
Silliman, 25, came up to the four-star level under Boyd and said she can’t count the number of things she’s learned while under his tutelage. She spent most of her time riding training and preliminary horses for him and his owners.
“I grew up riding with Susie Beale, and I learned so much from her too, but really learning everything there is to know about eventing has come from Boyd—how to get a horse fit, how to train all different sorts of young horses, difficult horses,” she said. “I was fortunate enough to start working for him when he and Silva were starting their business here, so I got to watch them build their business from the ground up.
“I’ve been through so much with the two of them, between the barn fire and my big head injury and Silva’s injury. We’re family. This move happened fast, and it’s bittersweet, but they’ll always be family,” she added.
