2018 Lucas Oil NCHA Super Stakes – April 21, 2018 – Fort Worth, Tex
Lance Cooper, 17, scored 224 points Saturday on Zen And Tonic, owned by his parents, Michael and Jennifer Cooper, Weatherford, Tex., to claim the Super Stakes Non-Pro Limited – his second championship win in less than a week.
On April 16, riding first to the herd on Zen And Tonic in the Super Stakes Open Limited, Cooper scored 223 points and was never threatened. On Saturday, riding next-to-last in the Non-Pro Limited field, he clinched the win with 224 points.
Alexa Dahl, Weatherford, Tex., who held the lead before Cooper’s run, claimed reserve with 218.5 points on Playsomethingsmooth LTE $4,342, by Smooth As A Cat. Dahl, the NCHA earner of $87,484, showed Playsomethingsmooth in the Ike Hamilton Futurity where they took reserve in the Non-Pro Limited; the pair were also finalists in the Cattlemen’s Non-Pro Finals (12th).
Lauren Minshall, Vine Grove, Ky., placed third on CR Sister Tuff LTE $24,723, by Woody Be Tuff. Minshall, the NCHA earner of $336,509, rode CR Sister Tuff as a Non-Pro finalist (4th) at the Augusta Futurity, where Gabe Reynolds showed the mare as Open Reserve Champion. Reynolds had also shown CR Sister Tuff as a finalist in the NCHA Futurity Open Limited Finals and as an NCHA Futurity Open Semi-Finalist.
Lance Cooper and Zen And Tonic, by High Brow CD, have been a team since the NCHA Futurity, where they won the Non-Pro Limited championship and placed 11th in the Non-Pro finals. Since then, shown exclusively by Lance, Zen And Tonic has claimed ten major Non-Pro/Non-Pro Limited titles. On Sunday, Cooper shows Zen And Tonic in the NCHA Super Stakes Non-Pro Finals, while his father, Michael Cooper, is a finalist on Sunday in the NCHA Super Stakes Open Finals riding Judgement for Rose Valley Ranch.
In other action on Saturday, Blackish LTE $57,390, sired by Hottish, bred and owned by Julie Jarma, Whitesboro, Tex., and shown by Lloyd Cox, scored 222 points to win the Super Stakes Open Semi-Finals. Hott Nu Cowboy LTE $976, sired by Hottish, owned by Bobby and Mary Jo Hawkins, Seguin, Tex., and shown by Phil Rapp, scored 221.5 points for second. Rollz Royce LTE $51,975, sired by Dual Smart Rey, owned by Thomas Guinn, Philadelphia, Miss., and shown by Beau Galyean, was third with 219.5 points.