Karen O’Neal and Clooney 14. Photo by Tina Fitch Photography.
Karen O’Neal has been doing things the hard way for a long time — driving between six or seven barns a day, setting her own fences, building her program on borrowed time and long days. Based in North Bend, WA and generally producing just one upper-level horse at a time, Karen calls her “a little crazy right now,” but every now and then, something starts to take shape out of the “chaos.”
In science, they call it emergence. When order rises unexpectedly from disorder. All the long, scattered hours, the exhaustion, the near-misses quietly organize themselves into a perfect moment. And this weekend at The Eventing Championships Galway Downs, that moment belonged to Karen.
Karen becomes the new CCI4*-L champion at California’s sole event at the 4*-L level with Annika Asling’s Clooney 14, a horse neither of them truly anticipated becoming such when he was purchased off a video as a three-year-old. Bred in Germany by Christoph Hermann, Clooney 14 (who’s also known as “Cloonbear” in the barn) was a whopping 16.1 when he was brought to the U.S., and now he’s matured to 17.1. Annika had initially purchased him for herself, to become her Preliminary horse, but after putting in some foundational groundwork, she opted to hand the reins over to Karen. He was a sensitive, spooky horse as he grew up, and Annika knew Karen would be able to channel his talent into something big.
For her part, Karen has produced several horses to the Advanced level, but she’s not had a 4* horse until now. In Clooney 14, she may even have a 5* horse — she’s got her sights set on Kentucky in 2026 — but first, there were some boxes to check off.
Karen O’Neal and Clooney 14. Photo by Tina Fitch Photography.
Together, they made good on Clayton Fredericks’ cross country at Galway Downs, a course that exerted its influence and opened the door for a new leader after Rebecca Farm 4*-L winners Tamie Smith and Lillet 3 had trouble at the final water question. This weekend was their third 4*-L effort, and the first they jumped clear on cross country. Previously, they’d run Rebecca Farm’s offering twice, but Karen now thinks the altitude change (Kalispell is about 2,500 feet higher than North Bend, and about 2,000 feet higher than Temecula) could have an adverse effect on her horse, who wouldn’t have the most Thoroughbred influence in his breeding.
“I’ve been working on his dressage a lot, and then really getting him straighter, getting him straighter to the fences and stronger,” Karen said. Because of his towering stature, Karen’s focused a lot on strength. Clooney 14’s uphill build makes him a natural on the flat, but ongoing strength and fitness work have been key. “The Longs are hard for him, because he’s such a big boy. We have some hills behind the property where he’s boarded at, and so I go out there and I do trot sets up and down the hills and gallop. And then I take him once a week to a race track and gallop him on that and do some sprints with him.”
She doesn’t have a ton of help: her daughter, Patience, used to ride at the upper levels and had been helping with teaching clients at home, but she’s recently moved out. Karen’s got one person helping her, a dressage coach who she goes to for lessons when she can, and a family of clients who are based out of a handful of different barns. When she rides Clooney at home, she sets her own fences as she’s often on her own. She and a client are currently in the process of finding a permanent home base so she can have everyone under one roof, but until that time comes, it’s a lot of hours spent in the truck and a lot of quiet.
Karen O’Neal and Clooney 14. Photo by Tina Fitch Photography.
“It’s a little overwhelming, right now,” she admits. “My daughter, was helping me, just left, so I’m taking on all her students too. I have a young girl helping me a little bit, which is helping. But I really need to get everybody in one spot. I ride by myself. I have no help. I used to ride with Erik [Duvander] when he would come up, but it’s not often I’m getting lessons. I really appreciate it when I have lessons!”
She plans to travel south to train with Kentucky 5* winner Tamie Smith this winter, once she legs Clooney 14 up from his holiday. “[I’ll] bring him down here in January and start working on fitness and hopefully riding with Tamie a bunch,” she said. “Having her help me get him fitter and stronger and get that dressage — I mean, he’s capable of doing very well in dressage, if we can just get it a little better put together.”
And then, if things go to plan, it’ll be all signs point to Kentucky and the debut of a lifetime on a horse that’s been a special place of bonding between her and Annika. “[Winning at Galway this weekend] does make me proud,” Karen said. “I’ve been his close to his sole rider. His owner rode him some for a while, but the past few years I’ve ridden him on my own.”
To view full results from The Eventing Championships at Galway Downs, click here. To read more from The Eventing Championships, click here.
