Capone I – Taking the Long Road to the Olympics
| February 17, 2012 | Posted by Keara McMurdo under 2012 Olympic Games - London, Competition News |
Kyle King (USA) aboard 'Capone I' in the 2011 CN International- Photo by Keara
‘Capone I’, a striking 1996 Holsteiner stallion, has the talent, heart, and sheer athleticism to jump around any grand prix course with ease. Looking at him now it is hard to imagine him anywhere else, but his road has been bumpy- a fierce ownership dispute, starting in 2007, not only threatened to extinguish his promising career, but put his life in jeopardy as well.
There is a great article that summarizes this tumultuous period, from the Chronicle of the Horse, that can be found here.
In short: Capone had been the ride of Kyle King (USA) from 2004-2007, and they had just put in a great week at the Spruce Meadows Masters, culminating in a 4-fault round in the CN International. The future was looking bright, but trouble was looming – King would not see him again for three years. The ownership dispute was between Douglas Spink and Corinne Super – Super having taken custody in 2005, when Spink was convicted of drug trafficking. Upon his release in 2007, Spink reclaimed Capone, who would then go back and forth in the custody battle until 2010.
In 2010, after Spink was arrested for a parole violation, Sherrifs raided his property and, in the aftermath, Capone was seized by the Whatcom Humane Society. He was then released back into the hands of Corinne Super, who took him to her farm in Langley, B.C. to be nursed back into health.
Thankfully, with wonderful care and attention, Capone thrived and was reunited with Kyle King, re-entering the grand prix circuit together in early 2011.
Kyle King (USA) and 'Capone I' in the Nexen Cup Derby at the 2011 Spruce Meadows National- Photo by Keara
Luckily, Capone came to Spruce Meadows this year where I got to see him back in action first hand. He had a nice week at the National with a convincing performance over the gruelling course of the Nexen Cup Derby- finishing ninth. He then went on to win the CN Performance Grand Prix at the Spruce Meadows Continental tournament – stopping the timers in the jump-off half a second faster than the second place pair, Eric Lamaze and Hickstead.
Here is a video of his jump-off round:
Kyle King and Capone I – 2011 Spruce Meadows
In August, his success continued with a Grand Prix win at Anderson Ranch (Rocky Mountain Show Jumping), before returning to Spruce Meadows for the Masters in September. Once again, he looked good with respectable performances in some of the toughest competitions in the world – including the $1 million CN International Grand Prix.
Kyle King (USA) and 'Capone I' in the 2011 CN International- Photo by Keara
Since the Olympic declaration list has come out, we have had a number of inquiries about the declaration of Capone by Canada’s Mac Cone. In order to get some accurate answers I went directly to Capone’s owner, Corinne Super, who was wonderful in answering my questions!
“After discussing Capone and his timing for the Olympics, Mac was chosen as the best candidate as rider considering it had to be a Canadian team member. Mac began his relationship with Capone only in January 2012. We are looking forward to working with Mac and the exciting future for Capone.”- Corinne Super
**Remember the nationality requirements – because Capone holds Canadian nationality, he is only eligible to go to the Olympics with a Canadian rider**
“I would like to mention that the decision to place Capone with Mac was based solely to give Capone the opportunity at the Olympics. His partnership with Kyle was fantastic. I am forever grateful to Kyle for his support with Capone.”- Corinne Super
Kyle King (USA) and 'Capone I' navigating the bank during the 2011 Nexen Cup- Photo by Keara
So, there it is. The change in rider has occurred only to give Capone the opportunity to qualify for the Olympics due to the nationality rules.
It is a very young partnership at this point, but I for one, am really looking forward to watching them compete later this spring/early summer and then, fingers crossed, in London!
Go Capone!!
Keara
