Fast and I
Furious at
t’s a little like dusting off a Maserati hidden in the back of your uncle’s garage. “His miles are low. Most eight year old jumpers have more miles than Capone has at
fifteen. You’d never know his age sitting on his back,” touts trainer Kyle King, originally of Ocala, Florida. “I’m thrilled to have the ride back. I’ve had Capone come into my life now three times, and this time he feels better than ever.”
UPS AND DOWNS Comeback stories for sport horses are common after battling injury or disease. But in this case, it was ownership battles that unfortunately halted Capone’s promising career more than once. For the last eight years, Corinne Super of Langley, British Columbia, Capone’s legal owner, has had big ups and big downs after meeting the incredible stallion. It began in 2003, when Corinne was training at
Northlands Equestrian Center in British Columbia. A jumper named Capone I (Contender x Winja by Ladalco) moved into the barn and she was able to take ownership of the handsome stallion in 2005. Corinne began training him in dressage. “Capone needed flatwork,” says Corinne. “He needed to become stronger behind and stronger across his topline as well as more supple. I trained him to third level and then one day I started jumping him again. Instantly I knew that that was his forte. He was meant to be a jumper.” Corinne
had a few
Fifteen
If there was ever a ‘comeback kid,’ Capone is it. The talented black Holsteiner stallion at age fifteen is back in the game and, seemingly out of nowhere, has won three Grand Prixs in less than a year.
different trainers try Capone, but not all of them got along with him. With Kyle it was different. “All I can say is Kyle is the chosen rider,” she says with a laugh. “I knew him and trusted him, so I was thrilled that they made a great team.” Five years ago Kyle and Capone ventured into a close
partnership, easily making their way into the Grand Prix arena. “Capone has an uncanny, incredible jumping ability. He’s only 16.1 but under saddle he feels like a huge horse. In our very first Grand Prix, he jumped clean. And at this level, he’s never ever refused a jump. It’s amazing to ride a horse like him,” Kyle remarks. In 2007, Kyle returned Capone to Corinne, never
dreaming he wouldn’t see the horse again until 2010. It was then that Corinne began a long, three year ownership battle with Douglas Spink of Washington (state), a convicted felon, who managed to take possession of Capone a couple of times. Because of potential legal issues, Corinne can not share details of the dispute. Emotionally, however, the ordeal was the most difficult thing she’s ever been through. “My biggest concern was for the welfare of Capone. I was worried sick about what could be happening to him. It was a very difficult time for me,” she shares.
HOME AT LAST Finally in April of 2010, authorities raided Douglas Spink’s farm and Capone was seized by the Whatcom Humane Society, which found him in deplorable conditions. Soon after, in June, Corrine was able to reclaim the horse legally and bring him home.
Capone’s condition, both mentally and physically, was unfortunately what she had been fearing. The best way to describe him, she explains, is that he was neglected and unkept. “Capone was very thin, dehydrated,
Capone I by Contendor. Photo courtesy Corinne Super Opposite: Capone and Kyle King win at
30 November/December 2011
Rocky Mountain Classic in August. Photo by Cansport
By Liz Cornell
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