A rider of the great five-star campaigner Coolys Luxury has paid tribute to a horse who “loved his job to the end”.
Tom Crisp, who rode Cooly for nine seasons, jumping eight five-star cross-country clears including at Badminton and Burghley, announced this week that the Irish-bred gelding had had to be put down aged 22.
“He always put a smile on your face, loved his job and loved to show off,” Tom said, with “huge thanks” to Cooly’s owners Clare and Dave Corney, Charlie Pincus who competed Cooly after Tom and looked after him in retirement, and “all who were involved and supported us over his career”.
“Horses like him simply make us all love the sport and working with these amazing animals,” he said. “He will be missed.”
Badminton final scores
Tom first competed Cooly as a nine-year-old, who had had success at two-star (now three-star) level with Jo Rimmer.
“David and Clare wanted to buy a horse who had done a bit; it was one of my first opportunities to buy a competitive horse,” he told H&H. “They were great owners, and he was a horse we found and really fell in love with.”
Tom said Cooly was “an enthusiastic character”, and not a horse who was bought to do what he went on to do.
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“We thought we’d do maybe three- or four-star and just have a lot of fun,” he said. “He wasn’t a natural five-star galloping horse, not a quick, quick one; he surprised us all with what he did. Good times.”
Tom said Cooly had a “bouncy, open rhythm and a huge jump”, and he learned to be “a bit more pony-like” and not over-jump.
“He made those big fences not feel big,” he said. “He had natural scope and was so bold and keen; he was a horse who loved his job and had the mindset always to try to do the best he could.”
Tom and Cooly finished in the top 20 at CCI5* five times and had multiple top-10 placings at four-star. Tom last evented him in 2019, after which he had success with Charlie at two-star and young rider level.
“He was the top dog of the yard for many years,” Tom said. “He had a great team of people looking after him and spoiling him; he didn’t like staying out in the field too long, he wanted to come in and be spoilt again. You couldn’t turn him away in winter, he needed to stay doing something and being involved with people.
“Covid pushed us to retire him a bit early, once we realised there wouldn’t be any big competition, then he did a really good job for Charlie, which worked for him. I was pleased he could keep going, it all fell into place for Cooly.
“The decision [to let him go] was right for Cooly. He loved his job to the end.”
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.
