Karl Cook and Kalinka van’t Zorgvliet won the $62,500 Mercantile Bank CSI5*-W Winning Round at Flintfields Horse Park on Saturday. Photo © Megan Giese Media/TCHS.
Press release from Traverse City Horse Shows, edited by World of Showjumping
Karl Cook (USA) wrote another chapter in Kalinka van’t Zorgvliet’s (Thunder vd Zuuthoeve x Flipper d'Elle) comeback story at Flintfields Horse Park on Saturday with a win in the $62,500 Mercantile Bank CSI5*-W Winning Round. The penultimate week of the Traverse City Tournament of Champions also marks the launch of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League season.
Karl Cook and Kalinka van’t Zorgvliet. Photo © Megan Giese Media/TCHS.
This week marked Kalinka van’t Zorgvliet’s second international competition in nearly a year and a half. The 15-year-old Belgian-bred mare owned by Signe Ostby was sidelined with a fractured hip in the spring of 2024, and her future at the top level was in question.
“Having this horse back is amazing. Her injury is rough to come back from, but it’s what you have to do whether they come back all the way or retire,” said Cook, who piloted the mare in the 2023 FEI Nations Cup™ Final in Barcelona. “What’s important is that you ride them where they’re at and if you get where you want to go, great. If not, that’s the way it goes."
“She feels great,” continued the U.S. Olympic team silver medalist. “She’s always been such a fighter, and it’s so much fun to ride a horse that loves to do the job. She knows how to do it, and today I went as I felt comfortable. If there’s one fence that feels not right, I just slow down. There’s no reason – for what she’s done – to push it.”
Kalinka van’t Zorgvliet was on her game Saturday, and Cook channeled the mare’s footspeed and cat-like turns to finish Guilherme Jorge’s (BRA) second round in 38.86 seconds. In his third five-star podium finish in as many days, Daniel Bluman (ISR) finished second with Gemma W (Luidam x Unaniem) on a second-round time of 39.69 seconds. Canada’s Erynn Ballard had birthday luck on her side and celebrated with a third-place finish in 42.93 seconds riding Queen Kinmar Hero (Kassander van'T Roosakker x Aganix du Seigneur).
Karl Cook and Kalinka van’t Zorgvliet are presented as winners of the $62,500 Mercantile Bank CSI5*-W Winning Round. Photo © Megan Giese Media/TCHS.
While the 2026 FEI World Cup™ Final in Fort Worth, TX, is on Cook’s radar, the big goal on his horizon is the FEI World Championships in Aachen next year.
“We started preparing after the games last year; a lot of decisions are years in the making,” said Cook. “Right now it’s about making that U.S. team without overdoing it with the horses.”
Cook is no stranger to success in Traverse City after winning the American Gold Cup in 2023. “It’s always great to be here. It felt weird not being here last year – I love showing here; the arenas are great, all my horses seem to jump great here and it’s a great place to spend time.”
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