Lance Cooper, Weatherford, Tex., winner of the 2017 NCHA Senior Youth World Finals, had just the tonic on Saturday for the NCHA Futurity Non-Pro first go-round. Riding Zen And Tonic, by High Brow CD, Cooper scored 219 points to top the second day of Non-Pro competition. Gary Byrd, on Fear The Frog, and Ashley Galyean, aboard Desiresomemettalic, tied with 218.5 points, while Ty Moore earned 217.5 points, the third-highest score of the day, on Sheza Smokin Hot Gal.
Cooper, the NCHA earner of $92,416, made his first mark in an NCHA Futurity in 2014, when he was reserve champion of the Limited Non-Pro and placed twelveth in the Non-Pro Finals riding Post Card From Paris LTE $65,907. In 2015, he was a Non-Pro finalist on Smart Lil Bugley. Last year, Cooper earned money as a Futurity Non-Pro Semi-Finalist with Bet Shes A Smoothie LTE $39,763, and this year he showed the Smooth As A Cat daughter as reserve champion of the Bonanza 4-Year-Old Non-Pro as well as reserve champion in the Abilene Spectacular Non-Pro Limited.
Zen And Tonic, Cooper’s current mount, was bred by Greg Coalson out of Dual Citizen LTE $61,820, the dam of four NCHA money earners of $50,589.
Gary Byrd, Athens, Tex., won the 2016 Brazos Bash 4-Year-Old Amateur on Thirds Catmas LTE $46,432 and claimed the 2015 NCHA Super Stakes Amateur reserve title with Platinum Metallic LTE $36,721. He purchased Fear The Frog, a Metallic Cat son and three-quarter brother to Catty Hawk LTE 239,044, at the 2015 NCHA Futurity Sales. Byrd is the NCHA earner of $60,167.
Ashley Galyean, the NCHA earner of $382,506, was a 2016 NCHA Futurity Non-Pro finalist riding Metallico, by Metallic Cat. Desiresomemettalic, a Metallic Cat daughter, scored 218.5 points in the first go-round of Open competition with Ashley’s husband Beau Galyean. Bred by the Rockin 5 Ranch, Desiresomemettalic is out of Desire Some Freckles LTE $188,990, a leading dam of NCHA earners of $1,211,397, including Thundercat LTE $302,762, by High Brow Cat, and 2007 NCHA Futurity Open reserve champion Desires Little Rex LTE $287,519, by Smart Little Lena.
Ty Moore’s numerous wins include, most recently, the Brazos Bash 5/6 Non-Pro on Set Fire To The Reyn LTE $113,097, and the Brazos Bash Futurity with Sweet Sister Cat. Moore, from Madill, Okla. and the NCHA earner of $898,729, bred Sheza Smokin Hot Gal, by Hottish, out of Smooth N Smokin LTE $42,917, by Smooth As A Cat.