Zoe Crawford and her ride KEC Zara set out across country today (15 October) at Maryland 5 Star with a special partnership. Zoe has had the mare for 10 years, they did their first event together when the rider was 18 and have risen through the levels to five-star.
“We bought her unseen from Ireland,” said Zoe, who is now 27 years old. “I used to ride with an Irish guy in the US called Cormac Kennedy and he was going home to look at horses. We were looking for one and he called my mom and said, ‘I think I found the horse.’ So she said, ‘Ok, bring it over.’
“I think we got one picture when she was on the trailer, it was super fuzzy and all we knew from it was that the horse was bay. But from the first time I saw her, I was like, ‘I know this is my horse.’”
KEC Zara, who is now 16 years old, is by Visa Aldatus Z, out of a Puissance mare and carries the prefix of the Kennedy Equine Centre, part of the multi-yard breeding and producing operation run in Ireland by Cormac’s brothers Kieran and Liam and sister Sinead.
Zoe and Zara were placed 29th here last year, with a double jumping clear, and jumped clear across country at Kentucky Three-Day Event in April.
“Her cross-country style is big and bold – she is made for cross-country,” said Zoe Crawford. “Sometimes I wish she was a little less bold and would think about things a little bit more rather than just going. But she’s so honest out there, she tries as hard as she possibly can and if you put something in front of her, she’s going to jump it.”
Dressage can be a challenge for the pair as Zara can be a hot mare.
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“Everything she does, she thinks it’s way too exciting,” said Zoe after her test on Thursday for which they scored 39.6. “For the most part, she kept it together, which was very surprising. The warm-up can feel great and then she can get into the ring and lose her mind a bit, but she held it together, so I was very happy with her.”
The combination have recently benefited from help from Liz Halliday-Sharp in this phase.
Zoe Crawford said: “She’s been super helpful. Her biggest advice is to let go way more than I think and to trust myself and trust her. She tells me to get her up in the bridle and then be able to let go of the reins a little bit. She gets tight and then I get tight and then it goes downhill.
“When she gets worked up, I just have to ignore everything she’s doing and keep repeating to myself to let go of the reins a little bit. When I can let go, she gets better.”
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Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
