Drawing first in the second set of cattle in the finals, Cooper and the young mare set the bar with a commanding 223.5. The score held through the remainder of the class, with second-place finishers Gottii and Tarin Rice marking a 220.
Comeback Kid
While the championship run made it look easy, the road to the Super Stakes title wasn’t without setbacks.
Cooper has worked with Red N Milds since she was a 2-year-old and had high hopes for her heading into the fall of 2025.
“That mare, there was no doubt I was going to show her at the futurity,” Cooper said. “She was by far the coolest, neatest, easiest futurity horse I’ve had in maybe forever.”
Just 12 days before the NCHA Futurity, those plans came to a halt when the mare developed an abscess in a milk vein, forcing Cooper to withdraw from the event.
Once recovered, however, the mare quickly proved she hadn’t missed a step.
The duo returned with a reserve championship at the Abilene Spectacular before continuing their momentum at the Arbuckle Mountain Futurity, where Red N Milds claimed the 4-Year-Old Open title.
With the Super Stakes victory, the young mare’s lifetime earnings now sit just shy of $190,000.
2026 NCHA Super Stakes Schedule, Results, Where to Watch
4-Year-Old Results
