Volleyball Just Wins by Nose for Coleman : High school: Corona del Mar athlete loves horses, but her desire for a college scholarship puts them in second place.

The love of her life considers hay and a lump of sugar out of her hand to be fine dining.

Before Kim Coleman found him, the Holsteiner Warmblood was a carriage horse in Millbrook, N.Y.--thus his name. But from the very first moment Coleman, the 6-foot Corona del Mar volleyball standout, saw Millbrook, she knew she couldn’t live without him.

“When I was a little girl, I would draw pictures of my dream horse, and when I saw a picture of Millbrook, he looked just like him,” she said.

Millbrook, like Coleman, is tall, strong and powerful. Because of her height, the senior outside hitter needed a horse of similar proportions.

“He’s a big breed, he’s 17 one-hands,” said Coleman, who was an avid equestrian four years before she touched a volleyball. “The average race horse is 16 hands.”

They have a beautiful relationship, one that Coleman can’t fully explain. It’s a friendship that Coleman, one of the best high school volleyball players around, enjoys keeping to herself.

“I think that’s why I like it so much,” she said. “It’s like my own little world. It’s private, unless you do it, nobody really understands.”

In volleyball, Coleman is less of an enigma. Last season, on a team that won section, State and national titles, she shared Southern Section Division I Co-Player of the Year honors with Laguna Beach’s Rachel Wacholder. She also was the Sea View League’s co-player of the year with teammate Jennifer Stroffe, was a Times’ All-County first-team selection and was named All-American by Volleyball Monthly. Although she hopes to attend UCLA next year, she has visits to Colorado, Colorado State, Pepperdine and UC Santa Barbara lined up.

With all her credentials, it’s difficult to believe that volleyball has traditionally finished a distant second to equestrian. Two years ago, if she had to pick between the sports, she would have headed for the stables.

“Two years ago I lost sleep over that question,” said Coleman, who even started a Sea King equestrian team two years ago. “I would have said horses. Honestly, I didn’t like (volleyball). It was something that kept me off my horse. There were times I went home in tears, because I just wanted to be on my horse. But I knew it was something I had to do. Now, I’ve totally flip-flopped. I love them both.”

Corona del Mar Coach Lance Stewart and Larry Mayfield, her equestrian trainer, have seen the transformation.

Mayfield, owner of Southwest Show Jumping in Costa Mesa, said Coleman used to treat volleyball like a job.

“Someone just asked her which is her favorite, and she said, ‘It depends on what day you ask me,’ whereas (volleyball) used to be work,” he said.

Stewart agreed: “She seems to enjoy volleyball more. Last year, even though she worked hard, you could tell she wanted to get out of (the gym) after practice. You know when someone wants to be there or not. You can tell she wants to be there now.”

Once Coleman realized volleyball, not equestrian, was the means to an education, it was easier to devote more time to volleyball.

“I think I’ve grown up. I realize that it’s volleyball that can take me places,” she said.

And lessen the financial load for her parents. Boarding Millbrook at the Orange County Fairgrounds and taking lessons contribute to expenses that run about $1,000 a month.

“It’s so expensive. This is pay back for my parents,” she said. “They have done so much for me. I want to be able to give them something back.”

Mayfield is torn between what’s best for Coleman and turning her into the rider he thinks she has the potential to become.

“Her opportunities are limited in our sports world,” Mayfield said. “For us to go on to the Olympics, it just costs us money. She knows she needs to play volleyball because her opportunities are greater.”

But there’s still the little voice that wonders, what if . . .

In a sport where it’s important to be seen often, Coleman doesn’t enter enough equestrian events--she competes in show jumping--to make a name for herself. But earlier this year, Coleman participated in a prestigious Palm Springs event that lasted for weeks.

“People there wondered where she came from,” Mayfield said. “When she has time to prepare, she does remarkably well. But she’s competing against people who spend as much time riding as she does playing volleyball.”

Interestingly, what makes her a standout rider also makes her an outstanding volleyball player: her hands.

“She has good hands,” Mayfield said. “I’ve seen her play volleyball and I’m thinking even there, her hands have to be soft sometimes and sometimes they have to be hard. She has the ability to know when to be soft and when to be rough.”

Compared to last season, Corona del Mar is weathering rough roads: a loss to Laguna Beach in the Orange County Championships and recently to Newport Harbor in a league match.

But Coleman is using them as character builders.

“It’s nice to have to work hard,” she said. “Last year was too easy. Maybe this was what we needed. (Losing) was the worst feeling ever, but maybe they were good wake-up calls.”

Stewart said Coleman is never satisfied, and is harder on herself than anyone else.

“Kim is very intense, and she’s a perfectionist,” he said. “Sometimes she gets frustrated, but it stems from wanting to be the best. She has the perfect personality to be an elite athlete.”