Congratulations to Richard and Betty Carr, of Bremen, Indiana, on their purchase of Congress Champion Best To Be Lopin (Carla) from Non-Pro competitor, Courtney Moses, of Pilot Point, Texas.

The 2018 bay AQHA/APHA mare by The Lopin Machine and out of Congress Masters Champion, Its Best To Be Hot, was bred by Jay and Kristy Starnes and trained by Courtney’s husband, Aaron Moses.

Richard Carr has been casually searching for a new Western Pleasure show partner for some time now and said Carla has all the necessary qualities to be successful in the very competitive Amateur Select division.

“She is a very slow jogger with a lot of cadence and has a big sweeping hock,” Richard said. “She’s also very pretty and has an outstanding temperament.”

Richard will compete with Carla in Non-Pro and Amateur Select events this year while his trainer, Gil Galyean will show her in Open classes.

“I can’t wait to get started showing her,” Richard said. “Since Aaron worked for Gil before starting his own business, getting the chance to ride and show a horse he broke really intrigues me. She’s already matured a lot since the first time we saw her show and we all feel that, even though she’s already been very successful in the pen, she is still building and will get even better.”

With Courtney in the saddle, Best To Be Lopin won the 3-Year-Old Limited Non-Pro Western Pleasure at the 2021 Congress and was Reserve in the Open division of that class. She claimed two National Snaffle Bit Association World Championship titles, as well as a Breeders Championship Futurity win and captured championship titles at the Tom Powers Futurity and Championship Show as well as a Super Sires Championship. Most recently, they won the 3 & 4-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure at the Arizona Sun Circuit and were Circuit Champions in Level 3 Amateur Western Pleasure.

“I purchased Carla from Hayley Cover, of Maco Park, in Queensland, Australia and she has made so many of my dreams come true,” Courtney said. “She has become such a great show horse. She’s honest, loves her job and is very fun to show.”

But she is excited that her former show partner has such a promising future in front of her.

“I don’t think we could have picked a better home for her and we are very excited to cheer on her and Rich in the pen,” she said. “We know they will make a great team under the guidance of Gil Galyean. I’m very sad to see her go but thankful she has a loving home.”