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 jenni@eventingnation.com.
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Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border. Photo by Mark Walter Lehner.
EN's Got Talent has been on a hiatus during Rolex and Badminton, but I'm back this morning to bring you Part 2 on Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border before the EN homepage becomes packed with news from Jersey Fresh later today. Crossy most notably won the 5-year-old Young Event Horse East Coast Championships last year and has since racked up numerous top placings at training level and preliminary, which he moved up to at the beginning of this season. While Kim thinks the horse could go intermediate now, she's giving him six more months at preliminary before she makes the move.
"He's very athletic," Kim said. "I've talked to Richard (Sheane, the broker who sold Crossy to Kim) about the horse's natural athletic ability. He's one of those horses that would be messing around on the long line and come up to a jump and always land on his feet. He's very willing to go. The more he learns and the more we work together on our partnership, the faster he'll go and the easier it will be. He knows he can do everything, and sometimes we need to have a conversation about that. We're working on our conversation skills." Crossy is a very confident type who asks questions later, Kim said, which has her very excited about just how far he can go.
Kim and Crossy with their YEH swag. Photo by Liz Storandt.
“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.” Kim hopes Crossy can be her next Winsome Adante, and she's very honest about the fact that she's thought about Rio for this horse. "If I'm going to be on a team again it will be on this horse," Kim said."
Crossy will compete in the CIC1* at Virginia next month, and Kim might move him up to intermediate this fall if all continues to go well with the horse. The horse will definitely start next season competing at intermediate, and Kim plans to aim him toward a CCI2*. And, of course, there's always the chance the horse could go overseas, and Kim would love to see Crossy go at the FEI Young Horse World Eventing Championships at Le Lion D'Angers. "I think this would be a great horse to go over and start showing the rest of the world that we've got some really good horses coming up," Kim said.
To fund Crossy's career and future trips overseas, Kim is putting together a syndicate for the horse. She's planning to offer about five shares, and is ideally looking to have a handful of co-owners who will follow along as Crossy progresses in his career. "I'm working on putting a string of horses back together, and if I can syndicate him, I can bring on another horse." Those interested in learning more about Crossy's syndicate can visit his page on Experience Eventing or contact Liz Storandt, Kim's super groom, at lstorandt@gmail.com.
Next week on EN's Got Talent: We'll meet Steph Rhodes-Bosch and Seahawk, a 5-year-old OTTB gelding by Chief Seattle and out of Miss Atlantis, by Pick Up The Phone. He raced under the name Mighty Mariner, and Steph actually galloped him as a 2-year-old when she rode babies in Ocala. While Seahawk didn't have much talent on the racetrack, he's blossomed in his new eventing career with Steph. "I sat on him a couple times throughout the summer when he was being let down because staring at him in the field was killing me," Steph said. "He was so uncharacteristic of a 3-year-old right off the track. I could get on him after six weeks and just go for a hack on long reins."
