Pull out the hay bales and hide the manure pit, y’all: we’ve got a barn wedding to put on! On the equestrian/actress’s 32nd birthday, her FEI-level boyfriend of two years Karl Cook popped the big question with a rock worth more than your truck and trailer, and she said yes!
The two can often be spotted together on the West Coast circuit shows, from HITS Coachella to Del Mar. They also share a stunning chandeliered barn in Southern California that we think would be ideally suited for some exchanging of vows if we do say so ourselves.
Kaley Cuoco, best known for her role of Penny on CBS’s The Big Bang Theory, has been an equestrian longer than she’s been famous, and has always found ways to ride. At one point Cuoco and her two co-stars Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons were making $1 million per episode, but they reportedly took a voluntary paycut to even their salaries with newer cast members Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch.
Kaley has a handful of FEI performances to her name, including the Longines Masters in LA in 2016, and has had many successes in the high J/AO divisions with her talented string.
Karl Cook, who long before he was dating a Hollywood starlet had a reputation for audacious looks in the ring and exploding with personality on the circuit, has had an impressive career in his nearly 27 years. (Fun fact: if the FEI Database is to be believed, Karl’s birthday is Christmas Day!) In his youth he made three appearances at the NAJYRC and in his professional career, three appearances at the World Cup Final (One aboard his current mount Tembla and twice on Jonkheer Z). In his first NAJYRC performance, he won the individual AND team show jumping final.
He’s also been on a handful of Nations Cup Teams, most recently the Nations Cup in Langley, British Columba in 2016 where Team USA came in fourth.
In addition to sharing a passion for Show Jumping, both Kaley and Karl are also passionate advocates for animal adoptions and rescues. Kaley has been a spokesperson for The Humane Society and has flown around the world to bring awareness to a variety of animal plights, and Karl has taken up a more public banner on the topic since meeting her. Kaley’s many dogs are all rescues.
Basically, despite being huge stars in their fields and absurd amounts of money, they seem to be some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, and we wish both of them all the happiness and horse shows in the world.
Congratulations, and Go Jumping!