Erin Serafini, a long-time rider and assistant at Kristi’s barn,
recalls, “I’ve known Rosie since she was a baby. People see Rosie now, doing so well and so obedient. Nobody remem- bers when Kristi was being thrown around in the saddle, with Rosie bucking.” Erin’s riding similar bucks on Rosie’s younger sister (see the sidebar previous page). By 2009 the more-mature Rosie was performing in two-
star events, winning at Twin Rivers. She and Kristi won their first three-star at Rebecca Farm in 2012. Kristi took Rosie east for their debut at the 2010 Rolex. That year some top riders had rotational falls. Kristi was one who had such a fall at the twentieth obstacle, “The Hollow.” “It was a spectacular fall,” she recalls. “There’s a point when
you’re falling, it’s ‘we’re still here and we can make it.’ Then I looked up and when I saw her coming down, I knew she would squash me. She looked at me and she twisted so she wouldn’t land on me. She’s a really great girl!” From that fall, Rosie hurt her stifle and Kristi went to the
hospital. “When I was in the hospital, [British eventer] Ollie Townend tried to buy her from me.” Fully aware of how her horse had gallantly tried to avoid smashing her, Kristi’s re- sponse to the offer was a firm “no.” Post-Kentucky, Kristi walked Rosie for five weeks. “Other
than that, she’s been so sound. That was a little blip on the radar.” Kristi appreciates her mare’s tenacity. “She jumps anything
you point her at. She’s brave. She’s tough as nails. It doesn’t matter—she hit a fence and had a fat knee at Morven Park
one year, but she kept going. She just doesn’t care. She doesn’t let anything bother her.” This rider herself doesn’t give up. In their second Rolex,
they were eliminated on the cross-country course. They went back to Kentucky in 2012 and finished twenty-third, with their score affected by a refusal at the Sunken Road obstacle. This year’s Rolex was a triumph with their top ten finish.
France in the Fall Kristi is one of the rare professionals who competes her own horse internationally. She trains with Derek di Grazia, and the pair will compete in late October at their second European four-star, Les Étoiles de Pau in Pau, France. In 2012, they completed the Burghley Horse Trials in England, placing twenty-sixth. Before the pair headed to France, they competed at the
Nutrena USEA American Eventing Championships in Tyler, Texas, hoping to win the 2013 Adequan USEA Gold Cup championship that offered $40,000 in prize money. They earned a respectable second place. And on the 2013 USEA leaderboard for Advanced horses, at press time R-Star ranks second with 163 points, just behind Ballynoe Castle at 165. “After the AEC Gold Cup, on October 10 she
ships out to Pau. I haven’t been there before. My first trip to Europe was to Burghley,” Kristi says. “I’m a real hillbilly. I’ve never been to France, so I’m looking forward to it!”
2007 Holsteiner Contendro I x Gaia v Lord Calando (Stamm 2599)
Lifetime Approved by AHHA, RPSI, GOV, SBS & AHS Elite Jumper Breeding Program 2012 North American Stallion Test Fresh Cooled or Frozen Live Foal Guarantee
Breeding incentives available. Marquis Farms - Labadie, Missouri
Sales@MarquisSportHorsesLLC.com
Tel: 314-229-3525 28 November/December 2013 Cell: 636-399-3369
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