11/29/2025
Cornelia FZ (Cornet Obolensky x Contender) always showed her scope for the upper level classes, but at well over 18h it was a matter of teaching her to use her body well & waiting for her to fully mature. It has been a pleasure to have this mare in my barn & I look forward to every ride with her, she is the horse I have wanted all my life. She arrived from Italy as a very gangly 4 year old with less than 5 rides on her and has been carefully brought along entirely in my hands, so I am usually completely in tune with her every move. At the last show she started off the week feeling the smallest lack of push in her left hind, not lame but a tiny lack of power. After 2 days of jumping, and several very respected riders telling me “she looked fine” we jumped our 2nd 1.30 class and had a couple very uncharacteristic rails down. She still tried her hardest, as she always does, but when we came home I had the vet look at her immediately. After a thorough lameness exam the vet found she was sore in her SI & her left hock. After some PRP in her hocks and some therapy to the deep muscle around the SI joint she is back to 100%! 🎉 The moral of my story is that as the rider, we are the ones that know our horses inside & out, even though they may appear “fine” from someone who doesn’t see them everyday. If you feel something off, you are right, it is our job to advocate for our horses and keep them safe to do the job we ask of them. ➡️ Swipe for a picture from her first show!
