Profile: Breaking the mould
With his eye-catching striped helmet, piercing blue eyes and typical Californian loquaciousness, Karl Cook tends to stand out in a crowd. Then there’s the stellar partnership he forms with the hugely gifted Caracole de la Roque, another head-turner. He is delighted to be experiencing his first CHI Geneva, but, as he explains, he is not just here for the ride.
“That should have been my photo on the front of your paper Le Paddock today (Friday),” Cook tells me right off the bat when I ask him for an interview for said publication. Though he’s wearing a broad smile, he can’t conceal his disappointment at having missed on victory in Thursday evening’s Trophée de Genève. “I made a mistake and I can’t do that with Caracole. She’s too fast for that,” he admits, not for the first time since they came together. His formidable mare is exceptionally intelligent and breathtakingly fast to boot, the only downside to that being that her rider has only a split second to react.
“It’s almost as if she’s ten steps ahead of everyone,” adds the likeable Californian, who turns 34 on 25 December. “When she goes out into the arena and points her ears forward, I could swear she’s processing all the jumps. It’s as if she’s read the route in my mind. It sometimes feels like she knows before I do where we’re going to save time.”
The super smart 12-year-old Selle Français mare anticipates her rider’s every movement, allowing them to shine more often not. Things can go wrong, however. “It took a lot of time and hard work for me to get to understand her and find out how to ride her and make the most of everything she has to offer,” Cook explains. “Have you ever tried to ride a horse without thinking about it? It’s really tough.”
Patience and dedication
It is a partnership built on patience, dedication and no little trust, a quality that is plain for all to see. And since it came into being, success has come almost naturally, which is just as well, given Cook’s winning mindset: “I won’t be satisfied with just riding in Geneva, even if it was obviously a goal of mine to come here one day. I want to make my mark and win the Rolex Grand Prix.”
That objective is very much within reach if the pair’s form is anything to go by. It has been nothing short of irresistible since October 2023, with a team gold coming their way at the Pan American Games followed by a silver at the Olympics in Paris. In May this year, they won the ever-challenging Rolex Grand Prix of Rome and then finished runners-up at La Baule a month later.
An extrovert rider and a genius horse make for a winning combination. While Caracole de la Roque has always stood out on the circuit for her talent, Cook has his own way of getting noticed, sporting an original look literally from head to toe. He shows me his leather boots, which he himself designed, as he did his strikingly colourful helmet. “Have you seen Yuri Mansur’s jacket, that faded yellow?” Cook asks. “Do you honestly think he likes that colour, that anyone would want to wear it? But it makes an impression on anyone who might not know the riders that well. It tells them straightaway who Yuri is. Because of the rules we all look pretty much the same on our horses, but they also allow me to customise my helmet the way I want. So, I make the most of that ‘loophole’, if I can call it that.”
Cook has always pushed the boundaries a little, rocking up at events in jackets of various hues, sported with a matching bow tie. “You’re not really supposed to wear anything other than a white tie,” he says with a wink. With his snazzy helmet, quirky jackets, custom-made boots, straight talking, warm smile and sheer approachability, Karl Cook is not a rider who is easily forgotten.
Aurore Favre
Your hero?
Eric Navet, even before he became my coach, a little over 12 years ago.
Your favourite series?
Game of Thrones.
Your idea of happiness?
Spending time with my wife, my family and my horses.
Your favourite film?
Harry Potter, no question. Don’t ask me to choose one. There’s just something about them that makes me love them a little more every time.
Your favourite sound?
You know that sound dogs make when they’re snoozing peacefully? It’s not snoring. It’s more of a hum, and I love it.
Your favourite swear word?
All of them! But the one I definitely say the most is “shit” (laughs). I remember Eric getting me to do an exercise with bars on the ground when we started working together. I just couldn’t get it right and said “shit” every time I messed it up – and there were quite a few times. And every time Eric said, “Go again”, keeping it altogether (laughs).
Your happiest memory?
Marrying Mackenzie this spring.
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