Cian O’Connor & Copain Du Perchet. ph: Glock Horse Performance Center
Great Britain’s Emily Moffitt has welcomed the 12-year-old stallion Copain Du Perchet CH (Conteur x Ragazzo) to her growing string of top-level horses. The stallion was purchased by Poden Farms, leaving the hands of Ireland’s Cian O’Connor to contribute to the rise of the U25 talent.
“Copain is a super horse. He has been very successful with both myself and his former rider Edwin [Smits],” said O’Connor. “I think we nearly won a class at every show we went to, and he has great ability. He jumped big tracks before with Edwin and I think he’ll jump big classes and grands prix with Emily. I wish them all the best.”
Smits, a Swiss rider, joined forces with Copain in 2013 and successfully brought him up to the CSI5* level the following year. Copain and O’Connor began competing together in January of 2017, and acquired eight top-ten placings over the span of their partnership, five of which were 1st place finishes at CSIO5*/CSI5* events.
“He is a lovely horse, very kind and super rideable with a big jump and a great technique,” said O’Connor. “He has all the experience and attributes that you would like from an older horse to be able to help and develop a young rider.”
Within the past several months, Moffitt has made multiple additions to her string, with Copain now joining in amongst the ranks.
“The first thing you see is a big, beautiful black stallion. I’ve always wanted a black horse since I was little,” said Moffitt. “[Copain] has very sweet, playful eyes, and his name means “friend’ which I love. When we went to try him it took me a few minutes to figure out what he liked under saddle, but when it clicked he jumped unbelievably. He gives you a great feeling.”
The 19-year-old has had a consistent year of competition, most recently jumping double clear rounds aboard the 10-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding Hilfiger van de Olmenhoeve (Dulf van den Bisschop x Querlybet Hero) in the Global Champions League of Rome CSI5*.
“[Copain] will now be the most experienced horse in my string, and I’m looking forward to having a horse that will look after me a bit and allow me to learn and make mistakes.”