Adam Kober and Lope The Line Are Unanimous in Equine Sports Medicine 2-Year-Old Non Pro Open Western Pleasure Stakes

September 3, 2013 | Filed under: Club & Show News | Posted by:

This evening in the Equine Sports Medicine 2-Year-Old Non Pro Open Western Pleasure Stakes it was Adam Kober and Lope The Line who were the unanimous choice of judges Dean Bogart, Tanya Green, Murray Griggs, and Tony Burris. Kober and “Ellen” have had an incredible past couple of months winning Futurity Champion titles, NSBA World Champion titles, and BCF Champion titles along the way. Now, the pair can add Reichert Celebration Champion to their ever growing list.

“We bought this horse last year at the Reichert sale,” Kober says. “I didn’t know anything about her. I was coming out of a class with my previous horse, and Katie [Green] walked up to me and said we needed to talk. She said she found this horse and that it was awesome.”

“Katie had actually seen her in a pasture the previous spring. She pulled her car over, crawled under the fence, and took pictures. She said [the mare] was always in the back of her mind. Donna Morgan bred her. She’s out of Zipped Tight [Zippo Pine Bar] and by Lazy Loper.”

After taking one look at the beautiful bay mare, Kober was hooked. Ellen was purchased the very next day, and she headed down to begin training with Rusty Green Show Horses in January.

“Rusty and Katie called me and said, ‘I think we may have something. It could be a fun summer.’ ”

That prediction proved to be very accurate as Kober and Ellen began the show season by winning the 2-Year-Old Non Pro Limited Western Pleasure at the 2013 Tom Powers Futurity in their first time out. Rusty Green piloted the mare to a win in the Open division as well. Then, at the recent NSBA World Show, the team took home a whole wheelbarrow-load of titles including NSBA World Champion in 2-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure, BCF Champion in 2-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure, NSBA World Champion in Non Pro Open 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure, NSBA World Champion in Non Pro Intermediate 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure, and NSBA World Champion in Non Pro Limited 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure.

Kober says that although he’s never had a bad ride on Ellen, today’s performance was definitely his favorite. It also probably didn’t hurt that he was competing for a share of a $26,000 purse. His $9,000 winner’s check will sit proudly in front of Rusty Green Show Horses stalls in addition to the flowered neck wreath and champion saddle that were won in the class this evening.

For those who might not be familiar with Kober’s past involvement in the horse industry, he was actually a former POA youth kid, who just recently got back into showing horses.

“I didn’t own a horse from 1999 to 2011,” he says. “Then, I bought a horse and sent it to Rusty. I had him for a year and then bought Ellen in 2012. There was like 12 years where I didn’t own a horse. It’s been fun getting back into it. I’ve enjoyed myself.”

“My last horse was a red roan, and Katie named him Conan, because of his red hair after Conan O’Brien. So when we bought this one, Katie said to stick with talk show hosts. She named her Ellen after Ellen DeGeneres.”

This first win at the Reichert Celebration is sure to be just one of many for this dynamic duo. After continuing their campaign in 2-year-old open and non pro western pleasure classes here at the Celebration, it’s on to the All American Quarter Horse Congress in October.

Results:

Equine Sports Medicine 2-Year-Old Non Pro Open Western Pleasure Stakes-

1- (unanimous) Lope The Line/Adam Kober

(2/3 tie) 2-Best Ticket N Town/Nancy Ditty

3-Flashy Looking Touch/Courtney Chown

4-Sleepy N I Know It/Linda Berwick

5-Kettchup/Sara Heeley

(6/7 tie) 6-My Only Impulse/Heather Marie Bergantzel

7-Moonlight Rodder/Liz Hay

Scroll below to view photos from the class.