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Teen Wins Legacy Cup Non Pro
By Jamie Krauss

Courtney Baca, 17, didn't know when she was driving 24 hours from Texas to reach the Legacy Cup that she was about to get the flu. She also didn't know that, within four days, she’d be so sick she could barely get out of bed. So she certainly didn’t expect to wind up a winner at this prestigious horse show, showing everyone that she could transcend illness and still ride her heart out.

"I was so sick,” she says, “I didn't even think I would be able to show. I could hardly get out of bed! But he (Emily William’s Better N Better) was just so perfect."

Courtney has a real "if you want it bad enough, you can do it" attitude, which is probably pulled her out of bed and onto the back of Better N Better who, she said "didn’t set a foot out of place."

That's exactly what the panel of eight judges thought when they awarded her the first place title in the 3'6" Non-Professional Division.

And Courtney wants it bad. She’s had nothing handed to her on a silver platter. Acting as a working student to Colleen McQuay, Courtney doesn’t even own her own horse.

"I'm really lucky to have Colleen. She's the one who made it possible for me to ride all of these horses,” she says. “She's made a lot possible for me."

Courtney says Colleen is like a second mother to her. Courtney's own mother, a school teacher, is extremely supportive of her daughter’s riding career, but suffers from an autoimmune disease that makes it difficult for her to travel.

"My mom is great. She tries very hard to support my in every way she can. It's just hard," explains Courtney.

It’s hard, but not impossible. One of the most important gifts her mother has been able to give her is an education. Courtney has been home schooled and is currently at the grade equivalency of a high school junior.

Unlike other young riders who have to accommodate a formal school calendar, learning from home has allowed Courtney the time to ride while also keeping up with her studies. As for the decision between going to college or going professional, "it's still up in the air," Courtney laughs.

It was a major decision for Courtney and her mother to come to the Legacy Cup. Emily Williams had sent her Better N Better to ride, and at Pin Oak, they won all the Equitation classes as well as earning the championship title in Junior Hunters. After that winning streak, they knew they had to give the Legacy Cup a shot.

Expenses were very high. But they decided to make the trek anyway.

"We had David Connors ride him as a Limited Professional, and he won the first class in that division," Courtney explained. And it just kept getting “better 'n' better.”

Courtney won the 3'6" division, and enjoyed the rest of the week watching professionals ride. She told me how much she respects the professional riders, especially Ms. McQuay, who helped her get her big break.

"I'd love to watch everyone ride and copy their style. There are just so many people I idolize! I'd love to be a professional like Colleen. She's not just a good horse-person; she's a good person-person."

With an attitude like that Courtney could surely go far. She's got a good start here at the Legacy Cup, where she's riding great, her horse is going well, and the ribbons keep on coming. At this rate, she won't have to watch the professionals with stars in her eyes for long -- she'll be competing right alongside them.