Joseph Zada imported the horse, whose barn name was "Tailor", in January 1995, from a young rider in Britain, as a mount for David O'Connor.
Although O'Connor and Custom Made were able to win their first three-day by a slim margin of 0.1 penalties, it was clear that the horse needed additional training before he could be truly successful.
The pair won the Gatcombe Horse Trials, and was selected for the United States team in the Open Eventing European Championships, held in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy.
Upset with the performance at the European Championships, O'Connor began reintroducing Custom Made to the jumps he would see at an event, focusing on ditches and liverpools.
They then entered the Badminton Horse Trials, knowing that a good run there would put them back on the selector's list for the 1996 U.S. Olympic team.
Fellow competitor Ian Stark was in the lead after cross-country, but a poor showing jumping round with 5 rails down dropped him several places, leaving David O'Connor and Custom Made the winners of their first CCI ****.