A spectacular victory in the Rolex Grand Prix of Falsterbo, Sweden, once again demonstrated the effectiveness of show jumper Karl Cook and the incredible Caracole de la Roque against both the clock and a stellar field of rivals.
It was the second time in three weeks that the American combination showed its mastery in Europe, having won the Rotterdam, Netherlands, grand prix last month. And it was the first time since 1992 that a U.S. rider had won the grand prix at Falsterbo, though this is the first time it has been designated as a Rolex competition.
Cara — who U.S. Coach Robert Ridland contends “for sure” is the fastest horse in the grand prix world — had the advantage of going last in the tiebreaker by virtue of being the quickest in the first round. In the second round, where Cara finished in 43.28 seconds, Karl was aiming at the time set by the Netherlands’ Sanne Thijssen on the 19-year-old Con Quidam RB.
Sanne, whose father, Leon, won the Falsterbo grand prix in 2007, was blazing at the beginning of her round over the shortened 8-obstacle course. She finished in 43.74 seconds after giving it everything she had. No shame in coming second to a horse with a reputation like Caracole’s, though.
And Sanne had the edge over the third-place entry of European Champion Steve Guerdat of Switzerland, timed in 44.20 seconds on Dynamix de Belheme, who earned the same placing last week in Aachen.
The challenging format of the 500,000 Euro class presented by Agria offered a second round open to 25 percent of the 50 participants, or 13 riders. That turned out to be just one less the number who went fault-free over 14 obstacles in the first round, which meant Frank Rothenberg and his team practically set a perfect course.
Karl was ecstatic about what he and Cara achieved. After his time on the podium, he kept his victory gallop going, reveling in the sustained applause from the sold-out venue.
“I’m just so elated,” Karl said about enjoying another triumph, only two days after he put in the only double-clear for the U.S. team that was second in the Nations Cup.
“Caracole is everything,” the Californian continued, citing the team behind her and himself, as well as “the U.S. team; her owner, my mom (Signe Ostby).
“It’s a joy. I think she’s the fastest horse I’ve ever ridden and it’s great when you go in the jump-off and you know you have this beat. It’s whether me as a rider can bring it out,” he explained.
Looking at Sanne’s trip, Karl said, “I knew if I could handle the technical-type part well, I knew I had ground speed over her.”
The Rolex podium at Falsterbo: Karl Cook, runner-up Sanne Thijssen and Steve Guerdat. (Rolex photo)
Karl was the only U.S. rider to go clean in the first round. Carly Anthony had two rails with Heavenly W, world number one-ranked rider Kent Farrington on Toulayna tumbled a rail at the troublesome triple combination and McLain Ward dropped two poles with Callas, at the liverpool and the final oxer.
Discussing Karl’s performance, Coach Robert said, “The way he’s riding her (Cara) is beyond reproach. He’s gotten really consistent. Those four rounds (the two in the Nations Cup) and the two today, you couldn’t fault him. He rode beautifully. She’s an amazing mare.
“His strategy was perfect today. Those were two fast times he had to beat. They didn’t give it to him at all. The question was whether he was going to do six after the double (4A and B) or five, the leave-out, and the decision was do the six. Unless he really jumped out of the double, he was going to play the audible there.”
Plan A was the six because as Robert noted, Karl and his consultant trainer, former world champion Eric Navet, “were pretty sure she could make up for it with her foot speed to the jump at the end and then obviously, duplicating what Steve Guerdat did in the turn to the second-to last and then 11 strides home. She’s just quicker, but that was beautifully executed. It was really fun to watch.”
Before the prize-giving, Karl spoke to Sanne and congratulated her impressive effort.
“She and that horse are amazing,” he said.
“They’ve been together for over 10 years. It’s such a cool horse story. She and that horse are inspiring and you have to give credit to the journey they have had.”
Karl had a good tour of Europe this spring and summer, with lessons along the way. In Rome during May, for instance, he admitted to a mistake before the grand prix by choosing studs that were too small to handle the footing.
“I really feel if I had chosen the correct studs and we didn’t slip, the two major slips we had in that grand prix, we had a serious chance of jumping clear,” he said.
You can bet that the right studs were chosen for the grass footing in Falsterbo.
“We went bigger. If you make a mistake, you better learn from it,” Karl advised.
But aside from attention to detail, there’s no one secret that has him on a winning streak.
“When you get the opportunity to show at high level shows with the right cadence with the same horses, you’re basically bound to get better,” he commented.
“We did that last year and and I think we did it again this year.”
Robert pointed out, “It obviously doesn’t hurt having these 5-star nations cups under your belt. It’s a different world. He’s gotten quite comfortable with it. Having the teammates he has, it rubs off, and especially this year, when we’re on a bit of a roll.”
Let’s face it. Buying a world-famous horse and trying to ride up to that animal’s capability is a challenge, and it wasn’t easy for Karl, particularly at the beginning.
But while the two of them now obviously are working in sync and achieving success, Karl emphasized about the result, “It’s very much not just me. We do everything we can to track every detail that we’re able to, and make adjustments to any detail that we need to. That’s a credit to the strong team that we have, and it’s important for the incremental minute gains. You build up enough of them, you become powerful. No one thing is the secret.”
Karl Cook was all smiles after his winning ride. (Photo USA Equestrian)
Cara is heading home for a rest. The next outing for the 5-star U.S. team is in St. Tropez during September and then the Longines FEI League of Nations final in Barcelona during October. No one has been named to those squads at this point, but I would guess Karl might be a part of it, considering his recent record.
The schedule is so demanding that it can be difficult to have enough riders to keep up with the pace. As Robert pointed out, the Swedes skipped Aachen, where the U.S. won the nations cup, so they could field their best combinations at their home show. And it worked.
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