TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.--Karl Cook o Foxy de la Roque won the $31,020 CSI3* Speed on Thursday, Sept. 3 at the Silver Oak Jumper Tournament.

Karl Cook on Foxy de la Roque (Photo by Natalie Suto)Cook was clean in 61.37 seconds to win over Ireland’s Paul O’Shea on Spy,, who finished in 61.48, just 0.11 seconds slower, while Abby Funk on Hulla Hoop was third in 63.08 seconds from the 24 entry field

Cook arrived in Traverse City after a European tour that included a milestone victory at the Dublin Horse Show in August, where he won the 1.60m CSIO5* Cashel Palace Hotel Stakes on Foxy for their first international five-star win together.

 

“WE'RE COMIING off our Europe tour with Foxy after Dublin, and we had some things to work on,” Cook said. “This is a great class to work on those little things and get our feel dialed in after that show, getting ready for next week.”

“She’s feisty. We’re trying to keep her that way,” he said. “I think the extra freshness helps her be sharper, more aware, quicker up the floor, and it’s working.”

“Today was not about out-and-out speed,” Cook said. “There were some places where we added one or two strides because today was more about that rideability and kind of tuning. But she’s so quick naturally that if you just let her run a little bit, she’s just that fast.”

The Silver Oak Jumper Tournament opens the three-week Tournament of Champions and gives Cook a chance to prepare his string before CSI5* competition arrives at Flintfields Horse Park.

Cook also has Candy, a mare he campaigned in Europe this summer and in Wellington earlier this year, as another option for the bigger classes alongside Foxy de la Roque and Caracole de La Roque.

“I think it’s her time to step up and make the next move,” Cook said. “So I have another one alongside Foxy and Caracole to do that big stuff.”

“We’re here to win,” he said.