Jessica Kopp and WC Northern Charisma Score First APHA WC Title in Classic Am. Sr. HUS

By: Brittany Bevis

It was a very close race until the very end, but after the individual judges placings were announced, it was Jessica Kopp with WC Northern Charisma who claimed the World Champion title in Classic Amateur Senior Hunter Under Saddle. Coming in a close Reserve was Megan East Hogan with All Of It. Rounding out the top three was Desarae Gilley with A Sudden Legacy.

WC Northern Charisma, aka “Nova,” is an 8-year-old gelding by NTS Wild Card and out of RC Peekaboo. Kopp has owned Nova for the past five and a half years.

“He came out of a ranch in Canada from some really great breeders,” Kopp says. “I bought him when he was two and a half, and I took him to the Pinto World Show as a three-year-old. Then, I went to college and graduate school and didn’t show for four years, at least. I graduated this spring and came down to Texas and got a new job. I was looking for a great farm and looked at the Gillespie’s. They were wonderful. I’ve been there since June. They work fast!”

Nova has five Pinto World Championship titles to his credit, but this is the pair’s first APHA World Championship win. Today’s class was a nail-biter until the very last judge, but Kopp was confident in her horse’s performance.

“It was so close,” she says. “When we had our ride, I thought if I could ever win, it would be now. But, when we were in the lineup, I thought [Megan] had it until the last judge. Just before the last judge, we were pretty much even. When I won, I was just shocked. I knew we were going to be up there, but I’m still shocked and overwhelmed.”

Interestingly, both Kopp and Hogan’s horses resemble each other with their medicine hat-style bald faces and substantial size.

“They do look alike,” she says. “He’s almost 17 hands. He’s very goofy. He would be the surfer dude in California. That’s his personality. He’s so sweet. He’s never done a mean thing in his whole life. I’ve never seen him pin his ears. He’s like the sweetest most honest horse.”

Next up for Kopp and Nova here at the show is the Classic Amateur Hunt Seat Equitation. The pair hopes to add Horsemanship and Over Fence classes to their repertoire next year.

“I’ve popped him over some fences but not anything heavy,” she says. “He could walk over them if he gets his legs together! We’ll see.”

Kopp recently relocated to the Lone Star State, but her family and friends still live in Wisconsin. Because they couldn’t attend, there was a whole group watching at home on the live feed.

“I had some people online watching,” she says. “My mom is speechless. She is in shock. Two of my friends were watching while in class in graduate school!”

Classic Amateur Senior Hunter Under Saddle-

1-Wc Northern Charisma/Jessica Kopp

2-All Of It/Megan East Hogan

3-A Sudden Legacy/Desarae Gilley

4-All Or Nothin/Megan Jorgensen

5-I Got It Too/Sarayah Voorhees

6-Prime Real Estate/Kyle Cavolo

7-Talkabout A Roadster/Lindsay McLain

8-Nighttime Sensation/Christine Weiser

9-Talk Dark Sensation/Jennifer Chan

10-Super Sonic Scenic/Courtney Menke

Intermediate–

1-A Sudden Legacy/Desarae Gilley

2-I Got It Too/Sarayah Voorhees

3-Git Ya Some Of That/Stacie Lundquist

4-Artfully Fancy/Kirsten Christopherson

5- Hes Worth The Gamble/Jennifer Shexnayder