PARIS — Equestrian jumper Karl Cook of Rancho Santa Fe helped Team USA win a silver medal in the jumping finals of the Paris Olympics on Friday after a last-minute substitution in the qualifiers.
Cook, 33, came to Paris as an alternate on the four-person equestrian jumping team. According to the United States Equestrian Federation, Cook was substituted to replace jumper Kent Farrington just two hours before the team qualifier on Thursday morning due to concerns about potential allergy issues with Farrington’s horse, Greya.
Cook said while being substituted in was a surprise, this was a moment he had prepared for as an alternate.
“I packed white breeches, white shirt, pink coat, tie, everything, as if I was showing, because I didn’t know if I’d get the call, and my job as the alternate is to be ready no matter what,” Cook said on social media after the qualifier. “That was a wild way to wake up.”
Riding atop mare Caracole De La Roque, Cook rode a clear round at Versailles and helped the U.S. to place second in the qualifier and advance to the final with teammates McLain Ward on horse Ilex and Laura Kraut on horse Baloutinue.
In the final, Kraut, Ward and Cook’s efforts brought Team USA into second place behind Great Britain. They recorded four penalties and a total time of 229.90 and defended their silver medal title from Tokyo.
Great Britain clinched gold with two penalties, and France took the bronze with seven penalties.
The silver medal marks the 11th Olympic team medal in jumping for the United States and the country’s first equestrian medal in Paris.
The pair of Cook and Caracole, who went second after Kraut and Baloutine, completed another clear round in the final with no jumping or time penalties and a time of 75.88 seconds — the fastest of all riders in the second round.
Cook said Caracole’s performance was “unbelievable” and expressed his pride in the team and all the team at the barn who worked tirelessly behind the scenes.
“She knew where the fences were, she knew how to place her legs. I was able to place the distances, the directions, the angles, everything where we wanted,” Cook said on social media on Saturday. “It’s an amazing feeling. I can’t believe we got the silver medal. It’s something I’ll never forget.”
Following their success in the team competition, Cook and Caracole were also included in the United States’s lineup for individual jumping.
Cook and Kraut both finished in the top 30 of the qualifier on Monday — 16th and 27th, respectively — and are both advancing to the individual jumping final, which takes place at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
Cook trains out of Pomponio Ranch South in Rancho Santa Fe. This is his first Olympics.
