At just 13 years old Shelby Cochran is already no stranger to the winner’s circle. In her short, but successful show career she has already managed to be crowned a Reserve Quarter Horse Congress Champion twice as well as a National Snaffle Bit Association Reserve World Champion. As the daughter of Iowa trainer, Jeff Cochran, it is no surprise that Shelby grew up in the saddle. However, it wasn’t her father that first got her hooked, but rather her grandmother who purchased her first pony named Sparkey.

“I began showing at local open and AQHA shows,” Shelby recalls. “I won my first prize when I was just 3 years old, at the Mayflower Circuit in Des Moines, Iowa in Pony Lead Line.”

From there Shelby went on to show such notable horses as Dont Miss This Lady, a 2001 mare by Dont Skip Zip and out of Another Wilma and Got My Swag On, a 2010 mare by The Good Ranger.

Last year she teamed with Sheza Hot Hocus, a 2009 mare by Hocus Pocus Hotrod and out of Shes Just Hot and together the pair won two Reserve Congress Championships in Novice Youth Western Pleasure 13 & Under.

“It was very exciting when I was crowned the Reserve Congress Champion. I just went in there to have a good time and Spike so fun to ride,” Shelby says. “I always want to ride her when I go to the barn. I was so happy when it was just Kendalyn Herlocker and I to be the last two standing there.”

This year under the guidance of her father and Erin Lieurance, Shelby returned to the Western Pleasure pen aboard Certainly Spicy Hot, a 2011 mare by Certain Potential and out of Born Spicy Hot. Already a tough team, Shelby and Certainly Spicy Hot have claimed circuit championships at every show they attended this year. In addition to showing Certainly Spicy Hot, Shelby will also return to defend her title at the Congress in Novice Youth 13 & Under Hunter Saddle aboard Just Sleep On It, a 2011 mare by Too Sleepy To Zip and out of Just Lope Me. The pair already has a Reserve Congress Championship to their name and were crowned NSBA Reserve World Champions in Novice Youth Hunter Under Saddle this past August.

“I have always liked the Hunter Under Saddle and I wanted to try it. We had this young mare in the barn and I thought she was really cute,” Shelby says. “So Pep (Erin Lieurance) started to show her in the Limited 3-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle and I began showing her in September so you can say we bonded really fast. Some nights after school I would go down to the barn and Pep would have me just ride in the hunt seat saddle. I also took jumping lessons to get more acquainted with the smaller saddle. I definitely owe much of my success to Pep, if she had not pushed me, I wouldn’t have done as well as I did.”

The Congress is undoubtedly Shelby’s favorite show and she particularly enjoys watching the Masters Western Pleasure because she says she likes that it’s the first time the 2-year-olds ever show and she likes to see what the upcoming prospects are in the industry. Shelby also loves to watch Western Riding because she believes you have to be able to ride and maneuver through the whole course and speed up and go slow. Though she has not shown this class she hopes to one day soon. The next event on her radar is Jumping. So far she has taken several lessons and she hopes to be able to start showing in it in the future.

“I have always been crazy about horses and competition and I love to improve as much as I can at every show,” Shelby says. “Hunter Under Saddle and Jumping seemed to be something fun so I decided to go for it.”

As much as she loves riding and showing her horses, Shelby is also a busy student at Clear Creek Amana in Tiffin, Iowa. She competes swimming competitions and plays volleyball. She enjoys hanging out with friends and family and watching her brother, Tanner, play football and basketball. She also loves to cook and bake.

Shelby hopes to one day attend a university that has an equestrian team because she would really like to ride in college while pursuing a degree where she is able to help people and children that are ill.