“National Horse of the Year

Since being rounded up in the mountains of Nevada at the age of six, Cobra’s trainer and owner Marsha Hartford-Sapp has been devoted to the 14-year-old mustang gelding and proceeded training him with caution and respect for his instincts, creating a deep bond. Their mutual trust has seen them through competitions in both classical and Western dressage, where Cobra’s versatility and talent for each has been apparent. As one of the founding horses of USEF Western dressage competition, Cobra was one of the first recipients of the 2015 Horse of the Year awards in that discipline and has continued to collect numerous accolades ever since.

In 2018, Cobra and Hartford-Sapp won the Western Dressage Association of America’s Western Dressage World Championship Level 4 Test 3 Open, were reserve champions in the Level 3 Test 3 Open and the Western Dressage Musical Freestyle, and Cobra was named Western Dressage Level 4 Horse of the Year. Cobra was also the 2018 Adequan®/United States Dressage Federation All-Breeds American Mustang & Burro Association Prix St. Georges National Champion.

"Thank you so much for everyone that voted and believed in the same vision that I had for this horse," said Hartford-Sapp. "Several years ago I stood in the middle of a round pen with a horse that was six-years-old when he was rounded up by helicopter and had never been touched by human hands. The horse took me to the FEI levels. I won my USDF silver medal riding this horse and two world championships. But more than that, when I first met this horse I made a promise that I would make sure that he got the training that would ensure that he got a good life."

"...So winning this award is an honor that I fulfilled a promise to a horse that I would help to create a good life for him. So from wild to world champion, this horse's heart is really what has led him through the years and I am so proud that he received this award."

See the video honoring Cobra at the USEF Horse of the Year Awards presented by AON.”- USEF: https://www.usef.org/media/press-releases/verdades-cobra-win-2018-horse-of-year