We hear all the time about horses at the top of the sport, but what about the next generation of equine talent? EN’s Got Talent introduces the future superstars of the sport, interviewing riders about how they’re tackling training with these youngsters. Have you spotted a spectacular young horse at an event you think should be highlighted in this column? Tip me at [email protected].
Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border. Photo by David Mullinix.
Cooley Cross Border might be the most well known young event horse in the country, and it’s easy to see why. A quick perusal of his USEA profile shows that this horse, a 6-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, has won 10 of his 17 recognized starts since beginning his eventing career last spring.
He concluded his 5-year-old season last year with a four-event winning steak at training level — which included a win at the Area II Training Level Championships — and a victory in the Young Event Horse 5-Year-Old East Coast Championships. Overachiever, much?
I caught up with Kim Severson, who owns the horse with her mom Jackie, this week to talk about what makes Cross so special and why she thinks he will be a horse to watch for the future. Incidentally, she just returned on a horse-shopping trip to Ireland to meet with Richard Sheane, the mastermind behind the Cooley name and the broker who sold the horse to Kim.
“When I first saw Cross in Ireland, he was 4 and barely broke,” Kim said “Right away, he just drew my eye to him. I liked the way he was really intent on listening to the rider. I looked at another horse at the same time that was extremely nice — we called him ‘the Badminton horse’ — but there was something about Cross that I preferred.”
Kim Severson and Cooley Crossborder. Photo by David Mullinix.
Kim imported Cross in July 2011 from Sheane, who sourced the horse from breeder Johnny Duffy, who owns the dam Who’s Diaz, an Irish Sport Horse mare by the Dutch stallion Osilvis. John Kearney owns the sire Diamond Roller, an Irish Sport Horse stallion.
“Since the get go, he’s been very easy to train and straight forward for the most part,” Kim said. “Richard long lines them everywhere as babies, so he’d had exposure to cross-country courses already. That experience, in addition to his attitude and conformation, makes him who he is. You just kind of know when you see him — this is the real deal. You can’t help but notice him.”
Of course, training this future superstar hasn’t been without its challenges, and Cross’s nemesis has been accepting the contact. “He’s had issues with that from the very beginning, and, honestly, I’m still working through it,” Kim said.
“I’ve become a fan of the Micklem bridle. I believe it’s a very useful bridle for a horse that overtakes the contact or won’t accept it at all, and Cross does both. With that bridle, I’ve had a lot of luck teaching him how to accept the contact because it uses nose pressure too and doesn’t just come from the mouth.”
After a solid season at novice and training level last year, Cross moved up to preliminary at the beginning of this season. “I intended to move him up at Pine Top because it’s a beautiful place to move up,” Kim said. “But I ended up moving up at Paradise instead, which is a strong course for a young horse.
“But he was brilliant (and won the division). In a lot of ways, I want to move him up to intermediate. He’s ready in a lot of ways, but I will not do that. He’s ready mentally, but he’s not ready physically. He needs six more months of preliminary. With that in mind, we’ll be aiming for the one-star at Virginia next month to get him a run on a longer course.”
Next week on EN’s Got Talent: We’ll learn more about Kim’s plans for Cross for the rest of the year, as well as how far she thinks this horse can take her in the future. In addition, I have the full scoop on what Kim envisions for Cross’s syndication, which is now posted on the Experience Eventing website.
“I’ve been out of competing heavily for the last couple years, and I’m really excited about this horse,” Kim said. “He’s an extraordinarily nice horse, and it’s a super opportunity for me and the States if I can make it work. We need more horses like this; that has to happen for the U.S. Here’s a horse of the quality that we need that hopefully can go on and perform at the highest level for us.”
