If you’re not aware of Cooley Nutcracker yet, put him on your radar. The 10-year-old has won both his CCI4*-L starts and is currently equal third after dressage in the five-star at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event.
“He’s gorgeous, I absolutely love him. He’s one of my favourite horses,” said his rider Liz Halliday after his test yesterday. “He’s incredibly sharp, which nobody realises because they see me on him and close to him, but he’s very people sharp, horse sharp, everything – but I think that’s what makes him so good and so careful.”
Liz continues: “He’s interesting because he’ll go and spook in the warm-up and spook along when he goes in the showjumping ring, but once he’s on on the job, he’s all business, which I love about him. He loves to compete. And he’s just a powerhouse, he’s got a lot of engine.”
The black gelding was bred in Ireland by Gary Doherty, by Tolan R. He was produced by French Olympic medallist Astier Nicolas up to three-star level, competing with him in the seven-year-old World Championships before joining Liz in 2022.
Liz says that the two of them “becoming friends over the last two years” has been an essential part of their success.
“I think it’s just stepping stones to a big future for him because I really believe in him a lot,” she said.
The pair earned a good smattering of eights in their dressage test, with the marks dropping down when the syndicate owned horse showed his inexperience in the walk and the flying changes. Their final score was 30.6, to sit alongside Lauren Nicholson and the veteran fan favourite Vermiculus.
“He’s still a bit weak and with plenty of green moments, I’m thrilled with the score he got because it just shows what he’s going to be. It wasn’t even close to a polished test,” said Liz. “He’s capable of low 20s. He’s had that in four-stars, he just needs to get a little more solidified in his changes and more calm and relaxed in the ring, and then I think he’ll be spectacular.
“When he’s nervous, he suddenly tries to stop on me. That was what he did in the first shoulder-in and so I rode him quite strong in the second one. He also does it sometimes going across the diagonal to change without me doing anything – He just goes, ‘How about I walk?’ so I’m saying, ‘No, please don’t walk.’
“He did notice the camera in the extended walk, but he was a very good boy to go whoa and just put himself back together again and be a professional. So I was proud of him for that.”
Looking ahead to today’s cross-country, Liz said she always believed Cooley Nutcracker would be a five-star horse and that he is “incredibly brave”, but it was only halfway round Galway Downs in the autumn last year that she thought he was ready for the challenge.
“He jumps very big and he’s very careful. I needed him to measure the jumps better, not jump so high and there he just measured all the drops into water and I thought, ‘Now he’s ready’,” she said.
“I actually think it’ll be great for him for me to just let him gallop. He has an incredible gallop, he is quite a keen ride cross-country. I like the beginning of the course for him – that there are fences you can just ride up to which I think will be great to settle him in.”
Data analytics company EquiRatings’ pre-event predictions said Liz and Cooley Nutcracker were the US pair with the best chance of victory. Their post dressage percentages give him an 8% win chance, behind Tom McEwen and JL Dublin (38%) and Yasmin Ingham with Banzai Du Loir (30%).
The pair head out across country at 3.22pm (8.22pm British time).
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