I wanted to give everyone another update on how Cozmic One is doing training for his new career.

It’s still that time of the year where the weather can be a little crazy, so we have been trying to get in as many rides on “Coz” as we can. In this last month we have taken Coz off property for his first couple times and introduced him to his first jumps.

As of now, I’ve been mainly working on him slowing down—mentally and physically—and having fun. In order for him to do that, we have to keep him occupied! Coz likes to think that everything comes easy for him (he went over his first jump without hesitation), so we have to keep changing up our routine so he doesn’t get too bored.

Isabela de Sousa and Cozmic One. Photos courtesy of Isabela de Sousa.

My dad and I thought it would be a great idea to take Coz to a local equestrian park here in Kentucky, Masterson Station, so he could have some fun. Cross training is something that my dad and I truly believe in. It allows the horses to get out of the ring and have a change of scenery—plus it’s a blast for everyone! Let me tell you—wow, is he brave! We met up with a couple of friends at the park, and we went all over letting them all just enjoy themselves. Coz had his ears forward the whole time and was never distressed or nervous. We even decided to see what he thought of the mini 1-foot-tall cross-country jumps, and the smaller they were, the less impressed he was! We went through water, did a couple mini banks, and jumped a couple logs and even a ditch, which he also did with flying colors.

Watch our first cross-country school.

Since Coz was so good at Masterson, we took him over to an indoor because it was too wet to ride at home. That was his first time in an arena since he’s been in retraining, let alone an indoor! We rode at that indoor a couple times and each time he got better and better. He was so relaxed and was really pushing from behind. He’s starting to get a good understanding of contact and how to stretch his neck to the ground, along with stretching out his back at the end of a flat session. He’s got such a quality canter and a great rhythm. It’s also a plus that he knows where his feet are when we jump! I’m very pleased with how Coz handled himself at a new place with other horses.

Coz and his friends hanging out during his first trip to an indoor arena.

So now that we have an idea of what Coz can do, we just have to keep working on the basics. We plan on making a couple appearances at different events in April and May. We’ve got a lot to keep putting together, but I’m really excited about Coz and his future!

You can check out more videos of Cozmic One and enter to win a Cozmic One t-shirt on the De Sousa Stables Facebook page.

Isabela de Sousa is retraining Cozmic One, Zenyatta’s first foal, for the Retired Racehorse Project’s 2018 Thoroughbred Makeover. She comes from a family of horsemen and trains out of the De Sousa Stables in Lexington, Kentucky. The teenager won the show jumping division of the Thoroughbred Makeover in 2015, ’16 and ’17 and also shows in the hunter, jumper and equitation divisions at shows when she can. Read all her COTH blogs.