Wellington, FL – February 11, 2013 – The city of Gulfport, MS, was alive with hunter action as the Gulf Coast Premier I Horse Show got underway last week, but it was the chestnut Warmblood owned by Margaret Duprey’s Cherry Knoll Farm that stole the limelight. With Katie Cooper in the irons, Sandlot caught the judges’ eyes and was awarded the Pre-Green Hunter Championship.
Wednesday morning welcomed riders to the opening day with a brisk chill, as Katie Cooper entered the hunter arena at the Gulf Coast Premier I with Duprey’s talented 6-year-old mount. The pair has been working together since spring of 2012, with Cooper training out of Caves Farm in Owings Mills, MD. They captured the rosette tricolor at the Brandywine Valley Summer Series in 2012 in the Pre-Greens, falling just a few points behind professional hunter rider Louise Serio.
The Gulf Coast Premier may have been a change of scenery, but the new venue only upped the game for Cooper and Sandlot. They dominated the Pre-Green Hunter division riding to two first place ribbons and two second place ribbons over fences. After earning the fourth place finish in the under saddle, Cooper clinched the winning title in the Adequan Pre-Green Hunter Classic. Sandlot stood center ring as the duo posed for the presentation shot.