Cornet 39 and Daniel Deusser. Ph. ©Lucio Landa
At first glance, the 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding Cornet 39 (Cornet Obolensky x Caletto I) doesn’t look like your average show jumper. His small-framed physique is decorated by atypical gray markings, and his shy, often timid personality wouldn’t make him the obvious choice for a 1.60m course.
Nevertheless, Cornet is no underdog. The pocket rocket gelding has extraordinary skill and ability, which was memorably put on display during his first partnered win with Germany’s Daniel Deusser on October 15, 2017.
Leading up to their appearance at the Longines Global Champions Tour series finale in Doha, Qatar, we learn more about the former ride of USA’s Lauren Hough, a horse who is continuing his ascent through the levels of sport:
Past
- His name at birth was Cornet B
- He was first introduced to the rated circuit by Sweden’s Irma Karlsson in 2012.
- Cornet competed under Karlsson at the 2014 Continental/Regional Championships in Vejer de la Frontera, Spain. The following year, they won individual gold at the Continental/Regional Championships in Arezzo, Italy.
- In 2015 he was sold to USA’s Paris Sellon. The two briefly competed together before Sellon’s trainer, Lauren Hough, took up the reins.
- Hough and Cornet acquired multiple top-ten placings together, including a 1st place finish in the $130,000 Engel & Volkers CSI4* Grand Prix on March 26th, 2017, at the Winter Equestrian Festival.
- On Sunday, October 15, 2017, Deusser and Cornet won the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Qualifier at the Kingsland Oslo Horse Show CSI5*-W in Norway. This doubled as their first win and indoor competition together.
Present
- We didn’t know that his stable name was [previously] Cotton. We just call him Cornet.
- He normally goes out three to four times a day here. He’ll go in the walker once a day and I’ll ride him once as well. He’ll get hand walked and sometimes I’ll put my groom on him and have them just walk on the race track for 20-25 minutes, just so he gets out a little bit.
- He eats anything, and I think he’s a little spoiled to be honest. He has a bit of character but whenever you have something to eat he comes right away.
- He’s very sensitive compared to other horses, so we just had to get used to each other in the beginning. Whenever I made a movement with my tall upper body he did the same; when I leaned a little bit left he went to the left, and if I leaned too much to the right he went to the right.
- I didn’t expect to win the World Cup [Oslo qualifier] right away but it also wasn’t a surprise because he gives me a good feeling. He wants to be very careful and he’s a naturally fast horse.
Future
- He will go to Doha [in November], but I haven’t really planned for December yet.
- Cornet was sold to Stephex Stables, whom Deusser rides for, in August of 2017. His new home base is Stephex Stables in Meise, Belgium.