CUBA — Perhaps, for the TMC Equestrian team, this was destiny.
After all, in its three previous trips to the Youth Equestrian Development Association (YEDA) National Championship, the Cuba-based horse-riding program had finished a place higher each year, rising from fourth to third to second last summer.
And in 2022, behind a number of strong individual performances, it came as close as one can to winning without actually doing so, finishing, agonizingly, a mere one point shy of a national title.
Maybe, then, this was always going to be its year. Or perhaps it was the hard work that these riders put in during the 2022-23 season, which ran from September to April. Or maybe it was a combination of the two.
Whatever it was, this was, indeed, the year that TMC broke through, claiming its first youth title at the YEDA National Championship at the Tri-State Expo Center June 1-4 in McDonald, Tenn.
“It was an unbelievable feeling to finally be able to pull it off,” said Tonya Cooper, who coaches the TMC team along with husband Mike. “One of the cool things (about it) is that this is actually the 20th year of owning our farm in Cuba. So to win it in kind of (an anniversary year) was pretty cool.
“In the four years we’ve done YEDA, we’ve been able to work our way up each time. The experience of now being able to accomplish that national championship is really cool.”
Once again, TMC turned in an impressive performance collectively. Of the 17 riders on its roster, 15 qualified for nationals, a remarkable achievement given that only the top 10 in each event or top 20 percent in the final standings move on to Tennessee.
But it was five riders in particular, who qualified for, and then won, the team championship for TMC. And, just as he has been for the last few years, Garrett Cooper was at the heart of that effort.
Cooper won the team title for reining and finished third in horsemanship, producing 10 (6 and 4) of the 25 points needed to claim the championship. That was in addition to taking first in both place reining and horsemanship in the individual competition. By the end, in perhaps the finest performance of his career, Cooper took first in three of four of his events while also being named overall high point rider.
“Garrett puts 100 percent into everything that he does,” Tonya, his mother, said. “And this year, it really paid off for him. He rides horses every day of the week, he hardly has a day off, whether he’s riding for the team — ranch riding — or riding for himself. He’s always practicing to be better.
“The one thing about Garrett is that once he sets his mind to something, he goes out and just gives it all he can. It doesn’t matter what horse he’s sitting on, he does his best to try to figure it out and go out there and give it the best ride he can.”
Elsewhere for TMC individually:
— Katherine Riley (Allegany): qualified in reining and finished seventh in horsemanship.
— Lauren Farry (Hamburg): qualified in ranch and horsemanship.
— Angel Oyer (Fillmore): qualified in horsemanship rail and placed sixth in horsemanship pattern.
— Mekaeel Muyhee (Olean): reserve champion (second place) in horsemanship rail and placed sixth in pattern.
— Skyler Cooper (Cuba): finished third in horsemanship pattern and seventh in horsemanship rail.
— Kennadi Wenrich (Allegany): finalist in horsemanship rail and qualified for horsemanship pattern.
— Addyson Storts (Franklinville): reserve champion (second place) in horsemanship pattern and rail.
— Sierra Weismore (Colden): placed third in horsemanship pattern.
— Kailey Jordan (Olean): qualified in horsemanship pattern and rail.
— Ethan Hoffman (Hinsdale): qualified in horsemanship pattern.
— Kyleigh Rohwer (Salamanca): qualified in horsemanship rail.
— Lily Coleman (Cuba): qualified in horsemanship rail.
— Jillian Riley (Allegany): qualified in horsemanship pattern and rail.
Additionally, Farry, Weismore, Wenrich and Jordan joined Garrett Cooper as a team rider (a competition in which the top-six place finishers earn points). Farry took second in ranch riding and third in horsemanship, earning nine points. Jordan chipped in five points (second) for rail riding and Wenrich added a point (sixth) for horsemanship.
“It was a full team effort,” Tonya Cooper said of bringing back the national title. “Each of those kids had to ride in two classes and they were going against riders from 12 other teams across the country.”
Adding to the accomplishment was the fact the TMC youth team, aside from a couple of returners, essentially had to be rebuilt after losing a number of riders to the older division.
“The team itself changes every year. So just building that team each year is a challenge,” Cooper said. “At the beginning of the season, the majority of the kids are all riding in a new division, a harder division, so each year we have to build them. So to be able to build that team better and better each year to win this championship, that’s the challenging thing, but the fun part of it too.”
Aside from YEDA, Garrett Cooper also recently participated at IEA Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas. There, he helped another squad, the Grier School, to its own national championship, again taking first in team reining while placing fourth in team horsemanship and third in individual open reining.
A high school junior with one more year of youth riding remaining, Cooper has already accumulated 11 national titles (and the accompanying gemstone belt buckles and trophies) — eight in YEDA and three in IEA. In doing so, he’s established himself as one of the top youth riders in the country, one with two proud parents and coaches who have guided him along the way.
“Garrett puts such focus into riding and these competitions,” Tonya Cooper said. “He deserves the accolades that have come from his hard work.”
