Press release from Desert International Horse Park - edited by World of Showjumping

Since making a comeback to competition in September 2025, Karl Cook and Kalinka van’t Zorgvliet (Thunder Vd Zuuthoeve x Flipper d'Elle) have consistently found themselves back atop the leaderboard, including on Saturday, January 24, in the $63,000 C3RV CSI2* Grand Prix at Desert International Horse Park.

“With her, we take it day by day, but she has got such an amazing heart,” said Cook of the 16-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare that spent roughly a year and a half out of the show ring following an injury in the spring of 2024. “She’s so game and has so much fun doing it. We’ve had a couple good shows now in a row at this level. I think it’s probably where we’ll stay; I think she’s comfortable here.”

“Kalinka” certainly looked more than just comfortable as she traversed the first-round course designed by Colm Quinn and Alan Wade. From there, Cook and Kalinka, owned by Signe Ostby, had the advantage of being the last to contest an 11-horse jump-off.

When they returned to the Grand Prix Stadium, the time to beat had been set at 36.90 seconds by Reagan Tomb and Nijinsky 10 (Numero Uno x Cartani 4), but Cook and Kalinka shaved off just enough time to clinch the win in 36.32 seconds.

Tomb and Nijinsky 10, owned by Dirk Baudach, finished in second, and Zazou Hoffman rode Bloom du Plessis (Orient Express HDC x Rosire), owned by The Bloom Group, to third in 37.79 seconds.

“I think the big thing was to go very, very quick but not get too crazy greedy,” said Cook of his jump-off round. “There was an option to the last fence, and I hoped that the rest was quick enough; I did eight instead of seven. I tried to go faster in other areas so that I could be safer there. Kalinka was so good in those turns. She’s so quick.”