PREMIER - January 2023

Ever since breeding her first mare six years ago, Jessi Kopp has dreamed of owning a stallion. Breeding between five to ten foals a year, Jessi has bred Congress and World champions but despite her best efforts, the elusive stallion prospect she strived for always eluded her.

“I’ve wanted to own a stallion for a long time,” said Jessi. “I bred several stallion prospects over the past few years but for one reason or another none of those ended up working out. I’ve always said that if I’m going to stand behind a stallion and represent him to the public, he must be something really special. As a small breeder I feel very blessed in all I have accomplished but owning a stud was the final piece of something I’ve always wanted to do.”

During the years that Jessi was trying to breed a stallion prospect, another young stallion was already making a name for himself in the show pen. You Could Be Next, a 2014 AQHA stallion sired by The Next Detail out of Cameo Blues, began his show career as a two-year-old winning the Level 1 Hunter Under Saddle at the Tarheel Fall Classic. As a three-year-

old You Could Be Next won the Congress Championship in 3-Year-Old Limited

Open Hunter Under Saddle as well as the AQHA Reserve World Championship in Junior Hunter Under Saddle. That same year “KD” was the AQHA High Point Hunter Under Saddle Stallion and High Point Junior Hunter Under Saddle horse. To date You Could Be Next has won over 168 points in Hunter Under Saddle and more than $24,000 in lifetime earnings.

Jessi first made acquaintance with You Could Be Next’s owner, Stacy Huls, in 2022, when she decided to breed one of her mares to him. After learning that Jessi was interested in adding a stallion to her breeding program, Stacy casually mentioned that KD might be for sale in the future. Fast forward a few months and while both Jessi and Stacy were showing at the APHA World Show, the two met in person and discussed the possibility of a partnership. “Shortly after the Paint World I flew to Vegas to see KD in person,” said Jessi. “He was everything that Stacy said he was. I’m always looking for an excuse not to buy something, but I couldn’t find anything with him. He is the total package. At that time Stacy was just bringing him back from retirement and at eight years old and barefoot he was completely sound with legs just as fresh as a junior horse. He was the first horse I rode after my accident and even fresh out of his stall he was perfect.”

The accident that Jessi is referring to

occurred in occurred in May of 2022 when she was kicked directly in the stomach by a horse. In addition to her liver being severed into two pieces and damage to her intestines, her stomach was perforated and both lungs were collapsed. Jessi was airlifted to a trauma center in Austin where she spent two days in a coma. At that time doctors gave her about a fifteen percent chance to live. Fortunately, Jessi is a fighter and not only survived her injuries but made a much faster recovery than anyone could have expected, although she concedes that she was not supposed to be riding yet when she first swung a leg over KD.

Jessi and Stacy finalized a fifty-fifty partnership on You Could Be Next and agreed that the best plan to reintroduce the stallion to the industry was to start showing him again. Since Jessi would be showing him in Amateur and Non-Pro events, the decision was made for her to take KD home to her farm in Houston, Texas where she could spend time getting to know him.

“Since Stacy is in California it just made more sense for KD to be with me in Texas, where there are more opportunities to show and it’s closer to the major events that we are focusing on this year. The plan is to show him in the Amateur and NonPro Maturity Hunter Under Saddle events as well as some select Open events. The fact I keep him at home, with all my mares and foals, and maintain and show him on my own as a non-pro speaks volumes about how good minded this horse is. He is the quietest, best-minded horse on my farm.”

Jessi and KD made their debut at the Arizona Fall Championship where they won the circuit championship in the Amateur Hunter Under Saddle. From there it was on to the All-American

Quarter Horse Congress where they were a finalist in a very deep pen of Amateur Hunter Under Saddle horses. Their 2023 season has started off strong, with several wins in both the Amateur and Senior Under Saddle.

“He’s a lot of fun to show,” said Jessi. “He is an incredible mover and has such a steady demeanor. It doesn’t take much to get him ready. I think one of the reasons he has stayed so sound and still moves so freely even as a senior horse is that he is built right.”

These qualities which have helped KD excel in the show arena, are the same attributes that Jessi believes are going to make him an exceptional sire. Up until recently the focus with KD was on furthering his show career. Therefore, he didn’t breed his first mare until 2020.

“He doesn’t have very many foals on the ground and his oldest are just now riding age,” said Jessi. “From what I’ve seen so far, all his foals have his slow, lofty movement with a big trot and deep hock. The foals he has on the ground are all out of different types of mares and yet they all have a big hip and pretty head. When bred to hunter under saddle mares, he is producing big, tall, correct foals, but he also has a few foals on the ground from smaller mares and I really like how big and stout they are. I’m planning to breed him to some of my western mares this year because I think he’ll sire great all-around horses.”

As a scientist by occupation, Jessi enjoys experimenting with different crosses and genetics to try and produce the best foals. She is looking forward to seeing the excitement she experiences in breeding her mares, magnified by owning a stallion. As a mare owner, Jessi also understands the risk and gamble breeders take and as such is determined to provide mare owners breeding to You Could Be Next with the best experience possible.

of who they are and whether they are breeding one mare or several. I want people to know that I am here to support them even after their mare is bred and the foal is born, and I encourage people to call me anytime with questions.”

You Could Be Next will be standing the 2023 breeding season with Kim Dean at The Breeding Barn. His stud fee is $1,500 with multiple discounts and promotions available. In addition to Premier Sires, You Could Be Next has been paid up in the NSBA BCF, Color BCF and Stallion Incentive Fund, West Coast Breeders Futurity and Virginia Color Classic as well as several state futurities.

For more information on You Could Be Next or Nova Ranch, please visit their website at www.novaranchllc.com

“I know how tough breeding can be and I want to provide people with the best service I possibly can,” said Jessi. “I am committed to making sure every mare owner has a first-class experience when they breed to KD, regardless

Article written by Claire Binkowski

spotlight breederanthony leier

Anthony Leier has been around horses for most of his life. Growing up, his mom showed Appaloosa’s in hunter under saddle and longe line and he would go with her to the horse shows. Although he showed a few of his mom’s horses in the youth hunter under saddle events, as much as showing appealed to Anthony’s competitive personality, riding was never his passion. He much preferred helping with the young horses. Every year his mom would purchase several weanlings and during his sophomore year of high school, she gifted Anthony with a yearling.

“My mom never bred any horses but every year she would buy two or three new prospects as weanlings,” recalls Anthony. “Typically, we would show them in the longe line and then they would go off for training for the hunter under saddle. That year one of the prospects didn’t look like it was going to make a show horse, so my mom gifted her to me. I would come home every day after school and work with her and that was really where I got my start and knew that I wanted to train longe liners.”

Anthony dropped out of college his freshman year and at nineteen years old, moved to Texas to work for Nancy Magnussen. In addition to standing ApHC stallion All

Hands On Zip, Nancy’s ranch was home to about twenty broodmares. Anthony’s job was to help with all aspects of the breeding operation. During his free time, he was also training a yearling he had purchased. Nancy was so impressed with Anthony’s training that when he decided to give up his non-pro card the following year, she allowed him to begin training out of her facility. Anthony is quick to credit Nancy for helping him get to where he is today.

“It was while I was at Nancy’s that I really developed a passion for the breeding side of the industry,” says Anthony. “She taught me most of what I know about breeding mares and gave me so many incredible opportunities, including the chance to start my training business at her ranch. I wouldn’t be where I am today without Nancy.”

Anthony trained at Nancy’s farm for seven years and shortly after turning twenty-six, he moved to Pilot Point, Texas. After leasing a barn for two years, in 2017, he purchased his own ranch in Gordonville, Texas, the current home of Leier Performance Horses.

“When I left Nancy’s, I really missed breeding and foaling mares,” says Anthony. “There is something so rewarding about breeding a mare and then waiting eleven months to see what you get. It’s like Christmas.”

Anthony bought his first broodmare shortly after leaving Nancy’s, an ApHC mare sired by RL Best Of Sudden, who to this day remains one of Anthony’s favorite stallions. He bred her to Its A Southern Thing and she produced a beautiful spotted colt whom Anthony named, Its A Sudden Thing. The following year, Anthony purchased his first AQHA broodmare, a daughter of Too Sleepy To Zip, another one Anthony’s favorite stallions.

“When I bought my first broodmare, I just wanted to be able to say that I was the breeder of the foal,” says Anthony. “But after breeding my first baby, the goal became to breed a World Champion.”

Anthony wouldn’t have to wait long to accomplish that goal. The first foal Anthony bred and raised, Its A Sudden Thing, would become the ApHC World Champion in Open Western Longe Line. To this day, that is Anthony’s proudest moment as a breeder and further fueled his passion for breeding. Since then, Anthony has grown his broodmare band to twenty-two mares.

“When that first baby became a world champion and I heard my name announced as the breeder, that was a moment I will never forget,” shares Anthony. “I jumped from breeding one or two mares to wanting to be one of the best known and biggest pleasure breeders in the industry.”

In addition to breeding and foaling his own mares, Anthony also keeps an additional thirty-six mares at his farm that he foals out for customers. And the breeding is just one aspect of his business.

Anthony also trains between 40 and 50 yearlings every year for the longe line. Last year alone, horses trained and shown by Anthony won sixtythree champion and reserve champion titles in longe line events.

“I feel very blessed to be able to say that I have won every major longe line event,” says Anthony. “I’ve been training for twelve years now, and I love it, but when I look at the future, I don’t want to be pulled around by babies for the rest of my life. I want to build up my breeding program and reputation now because that is something that I can do and enjoy for the rest of my life. I also know how hard it is to find quality horses and so the breeding side of my business really complements my training business. When I sell a baby, I always offer a discount on the price if the horse stays with me for the longe line.”

And although Anthony’s training business is focused on the longe line, he is quick to point out that his goal in both breeding and training is to produce quality horses that will go on to have long careers. While there are many, like Anthony, who love the longe line, there is also a stigma within the industry that horses shown in longe line don’t make riders. Anthony has a strong opinion on that.

“Are there some longe liners that don’t make riders, sure,” explains Anthony. “But every year there are also a lot of yearlings that were never shown in longe line that don’t make riders. We just don’t hear about those the same way we do the ones that showed in the longe line.”

Although Anthony has had his fair share of success, he is quick to point out that while breeding and raising foals is tremendously rewarding, it can also be very challenging.

“In 2001, I had a baby born with one front leg stuck behind her,” recalls Anthony. “The mare was forty minutes into foaling I could not get the baby out. As soon as my vet arrived, she told me that if

pedigree and is a beautiful mover. Up until now he was used exclusively in a small, private breeding program so he doesn’t have a ton of babies on the ground and the oldest are just getting started under saddle, but I really like what I’ve seen so far. It’s always been a dream of mine to stand a stallion, and I am looking forward to breeding some of my own mares to him this year as well as standing him to the public for the first time.”

As both a stallion and mare owner, Anthony believes that while there is no hard and set approach to selecting the best cross for your mare, breeders need to be honest with themselves and make sure they are always striving to better the breed.

In addition to encouraging breeders to do be selective in their crosses, when it comes to his best advice for other breeders, Anthony falls back to the advice he received as a young nineteenyear-old working for Nancy.

“Reputation is everything,” he shares. “Always be honest. It will take you a long way in this industry and in life.”

Being honest has certainly carried Anthony a long way in the industry. At only thirty-three he has established himself as one of the top longe line trainers and is well on his way to building a first-class breeding program. Although he has worked hard to achieve all he has, the opportunities and lifestyle the equine industry provides are not lost on Anthony.

“I’m very competitive so I love the chance to win and am always pushing myself to be better,” says Anthony. “That’s one of the things I love most about the equine industry. That and the all the people we meet through horses that become family. We can all live across the country and yet be so close. You can go to dinner with people you’ve never met before and talk about horses for hours. That’s what makes this industry so special.”

“Be very selective in your crosses,” says Anthony. “You can have a great mare, but she won’t produce a great baby with every stallion. While marketability is very important, the most important things is to do your research and select the best stallion for you mare and be honest about her flaws. If you need to clean up your mare’s front end, don’t just pick a stallion who has a good front leg, but make sure they are also producing a good front leg. Of course, everyone has their own opinion on what the best cross will be, just like every judge has their own opinion in the arena, but make sure whatever you do you are trying to better the breed. In other words, don’t breed just to breed and don’t just pick the most popular stallion because that might not be the best cross for your mare.”

And Anthony is looking forward to being involved in the industry for a long time. Although he has accomplished so much, he still has some big goals to fulfill.

“I want to stand stallions, raise babies and train World Champions,” shares Anthony. “I want to be able to say that I am one of the largest and most successful current pleasure breeders in the industry. I want to be the person trainers and owners come to when they are looking to buy the very best stock.”

Article written by Claire Binkowski