• Costa Rica Z

    1995 Holsteiner grey mare (Carthago Z x Lacapo)
    Owned by Ann Matthews and Millar Brooke Farm

    Costa Rica Z was purchased in 2005 as a Grand Prix prospect for Amy Millar to develop for a student of Millar Brooke Farm. “She was showing in 1.40m with Mark Jungherr in Ocala, Florida when we saw her,” recalls Amy.

    After trying her once, Amy showed the feisty Holsteiner mare in a 1.40m class. “She jumped clean, basically because I let her go the way she wanted to go. Costa really likes to do things her own way. There was never any telling her too much,” she laughs.

    It would prove to be a great match from the start. Just weeks into the partnership, Amy rode Costa Rica Z to a second place finish in the Grand Prix of Georgia.

    Over the next several years they accumulated seven Grand Prix victories and more than 35 top-five finishes. In 2007, Amy and Costa Rica Z were named leading rider and horse combination in the Kubota Cup Eastern Conference. That same year Amy was awarded the Jump Canada Series title for the results she achieved with the charismatic grey mare, a title they successfully defended in 2008.

    Costa Rica Z changed hands within the farm a number of times during her career—from Victoria Pittman-Smith to Millar Brooke Farm back to Pittman-Smith and finally to Ann Matthews and Millar Brooke Farm. “The idea was always that she’d be part of the breeding program at the end of her show career. That’s what we’re trying to do now,” says Amy.

    Retired in 2012, Costa Rica Z now lives the leisurely life of a broodmare on Millar Brooke Farm in Perth, Ontario.

    FEI Results at this link.