Courtney Doesn’t Look
An eventer leaves her insurance career behind to train and breed sport horses, and this year competes at her first Rolex Kentucky on her homebred Who’s A Star.
By Amber Heintzberger A
midst the grandeur and glory of America’s toughest three-day event, the Rolex Kentucky CCI4*, the story of Courtney Cooper and Who’s A Star warmed many
hearts. Who’s A Star is Courtney’s first homebred Irish Sport Horse, out of her mare Heavenly Star. She raised and trained Who’s A Star herself, and in spite of a few setbacks over the years, they completed their first four-star together, finishing this year’s Rolex Kentucky on a score of 130.5, putting them in fiftieth place. The pair should have competed at Rolex in 2015, but an
unfortunately-timed bone bruise kept Who’s A Star sidelined at home. Then, as Courtney was gearing up to campaign him last fall, she broke her ankle and had to deal with her own recuperation and rehabilitation before she could get back in the saddle. “Competing at Kentucky was thrilling. He and I have gone
through a lot to get there,” she reflects. Once there, the pair had one stop on cross country and some time penalties on a very wet, muddy course. “There were parts I wish had turned out differently, but overall it gave me a lot of experi- ence and gives me a push to go back next year and be more competitive.” She’ll do that from her home base in the beautiful horse
country of Nottingham, Pennsylvania, where her C Square Farm is located and where she has been training with Olym- pic team member Boyd Martin in nearby Cochranville since the spring of 2015. She jokes that Boyd’s an expert in rehab- bing broken bones, since he’s had a few himself. “It is what it is; it’s part of the sport that you’ll likely hurt
yourself and you have to just keep moving forward,” she says. “I’ve been trying to watch what I eat and in terms of fitness, other than the exercise of riding and maintaining a farm, I work out. My orthopedist said it would take a year to be back to normal and I’m almost there.” Courtney has certainly stayed busy throughout her recov-
ery. She was thrilled to receive one of the Rebecca Brous- sard grants to compete at the CIC3* Event at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, Montana at the end of July. Unfortunately, schedule conflicts kept her from making the trip this year. She recently
Above: Courtney Cooper and her homebred Who’s a Star complete their first Rolex Kentucky this year.
All photos by Amy Dragoo
Warmbloods Today 27
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