Cook Beats Odds in Vegas

By Whitney Campbell November 16, 2012

It was a night of speed and spills, but Karl Cook came out on top, scoring first and third in the $30,000 EQU Lifestyle Speed Classic at the Las Vegas National, Nov. 16 at the South Point Equestrian Center.

German course designer, Olaf Petersen Jr., set a very technical track that presented many challenging questions. Only six combinations were able to post fault free efforts, and Cook (USA) had two of them, winning wih Notories Utopia and taking third in a field of 46 on a new mount, Banba, an 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse by Cruising.

Of the 13 obstacles, half the field found fault at the A element of a vertical-to-vertical combination. “Many riders were having issues with the oxer to vertical-vertical line,” Cook said. “It was a great course, but a course that you must have a plan for and make smart decisions according to what your horse is capable of.”

The speed component of the class caught a handful of teams, resulting in blind turns, awkward distances and eventually some refusals and unlucky spills. “There were quite a few semi-blind turns and difficult distances,” Cook explained. “But you could get lucky and set up well if you saw it early on.” Coming home, riders faced a large triple bar into the vertical, directly in front of the in-gate.

Kandi Stewart and her eight-year-old gelding, C-Scooter, were the 13^th in the order of go and the first pair to post clean in 55.908 seconds.

Seven trips ― and a few refusals and eliminations later ― Cook put up a textbook ride to each obstacle on his 17-year-old KWPN gelding Notories Utopia. Proving that speed doesn’t fade with age, the veteran campaigner  cleared the course with seeming ease and stopped the clock in 54.754 seconds.

Cook returned near the end of the field with his second mount, Banba, an Irish Horse Sport mare that is a half-sister to Rich Fellers’ Olympic mount, and current World Cup Champion, Flexible. Displaying similar characteristics of heart, Banba cruised over the course in a clean 55.998 seconds, unable to surpass Stewart but good enough for third place.

“I thought it was a great class and I am looking forward to tomorrow,” Cook said. “I will have both stallions, ASB Conquistador and Jonkheer Z, so I hope for the best.” Thirty-eight rounds of A-list show jumping duos now await tomorrow evening’s final event: The $50,000 Fisker Automotive CSI-W Grand Prix. The class is a Western League qualifier for the FEI World Cup Finals in Goteborg, Sweden next spring. This Grand Prix also marks the final qualifier for the year for the new HITS Thermal Million Grand Prix, taking place March 17 on the Desert Circuit.

Overall, the evening was dedicated to great causes as Just Word International hosted their infamous horseless horse show and High Jump Finals, as well as the local Air Force Base Honor Guard presented our nation’s colors before competition was underway.

RESULTS:
$30,000 EQU Lifestyle Speed Classic
Olaf Peterson Jr. (GER) course designer
1st – Notories Utopia – Karl Cook – Signe Ostby 0/54.754
2nd – C-Scooter – Kandi Stewart – Kandi Stewart 0/55.908
3rd – Banba – Karl Cook – Signe Ostby 0/55.998
4th – Chakira – Isabelle Terry – Isabelle Terry 0/56.175
5th – Coral Reef Carmel Z – Vinton Karrasch – Coral Reef Management 0/57.707
6th – Barthez – Jaclyn Jarrell – Jaclyn Jarrell 0/58.179
7th – Audi’s Reflection – Eduardo Menezes – Eduardo Menezes 4/54.498
8th – Top Shelf – Megan Jordan – Margie Gass 4/55.330
9th – Atlantis – Megan Jordan – New Venture Investments 4/55.464
10th – Dynamo – Rich Fellers – Rich Fellers & Harry Chapman 4/55.864

 

Short URL: https://theequestriannews.com/?p=14063