LEFT TO RIGHT:OverEasy at age seven, I.M. Shocking at age five, and Quite Electric at age three.
She cites cross country as Ready’s favorite phase. “He
thinks that’s what it’s all about. He has this big smile on his face the whole time he’s out there. He’s just grinning.”
Big Decisions Their 2014 three-star win almost didn’t happen. In 2012, at
his second Rolex, Ready didn’t pass the Sunday morning inspection. Concerned about his soundness, Barbara decided he wouldn’t run any more CCIs. Instead, she decided to enter them in only the less physically demanding horse trials and CICs, and also to do more jumpers with him for experience in that discipline. Two years later she changed her mind, however, and
decided to compete him at the 2014 Galway event. It was a good decision, one that led to their biggest win ever.
Over Easy Barbara’s up-and-coming horse is Over Easy (Quite Easy 958
x Amiral 764), a 2006 mare bred by Bo. Bo also bred Easy’s dam, Olivia of GCF (Amiral 764 x Herkules 504), and the fami- ly’s current broodmare, Victoria’s Electra (Electro 778 x Come Summer xx). “Easy” was judged Class I at her yearling Swedish Warm- blood inspection. In her four-year-old test she earned her Class I Diploma in dressage. Barbara has trained and competed Easy through the
levels. “I thought she’d max out at Training level. That was so easy for her and she was so great. I said, let’s try Preliminary. Her first Preliminary she skipped around it like it was Novice. That’s how she did every single one.” Barbara didn’t expect Easy to go far in eventing, both because of her speed issues and because of her bloodlines. “If you look at her breeding, you would not ever say, ‘Hey, let’s make that an event horse.’” Amiral 764 (Napoleon 625
30 March/April 2015
x Flamingo 481) was a dressage champion, ridden by Kyra Kyrklund. However, Quite Easy (Quidam de Revel x Land- graf I) has sired winners in all three sport horse disciplines. Even though her mare was sometimes slow on course,
Barbara continued up the levels with her. “She just keeps moving along. The first time I found things that were hard for her were at the three-star level, both at the AECs and at the CIC. She did a CIC three-star beautifully. She smoked around that. But the CCI three-star at the championships, the AEC, made her think, ‘This is difficult.’” Like Ready, Easy is a dark bay, standing 15.2. “I love little
horses,” Barbara remarks. About Easy she boasts, “I realized I had paid my dues with
Ready, and then I was given Easy. She really is easy! She’s so smart and level headed and so game. She’s just so happy to do whatever you ask her to do.” In 2014, Easy competed in 11 events, with her best results
at Galway Downs: second in Open Intermediate in February and third in Open Preliminary at the November International Event, finishing on her dressage score of 31.8.
Breeding the Electrics Victoria’s Electra, the Crabo family’s current
broodmare, is the namesake for her Swedish Warmblood foals, all named with an electric theme. “She’s half-Thoroughbred,” says Barbara. “That’s a great combination. I ran her to Interme- diate and she was very successful. She also was a little difficult.” “Now I’ve had two fillies out of her and two colts. The fillies seem to take more of her difficult personality. The colts seem to take more of the stallion’s personality. The girls are so much like mom. They are a little ditzy, a little slow to mature mentally. The boys are on it.”
Photos by Charlene Strickland
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