Showing horses at the very top level takes a lot of hard work, focus and commitment. Now imagine doing it with your husband or wife and three young children.

That’s exactly what the Cook family, of Cypress, Texas, is doing and they say they would have it no other way.

JR Cook grew up showing Cutting horses and his grandparents still own and show Halter horses. His wife, Melissa, had a long and successful career competing in the American Paint Horse Association as both a Youth and Amateur contender. But in 2008they stepped back to start a family – which now includes three daughters – Georgia, Isabella and Elizabeth – and to launch their own business, Allstate Signal & Construction, a heavy highway electrical construction company.

JR and Melissa returned to the show world when Georgia was just getting her start competing in all-around youth classes and the couple enlisted the help of Florida trainers Cole and Elizabeth Baker.

It wasn’t long before JR got the itch to get back in pen himself and Cole found him the perfect partner in Line Up Behind (Calvin), a 2017 bay gelding by VS Flatline out of Shes Immortal.

“He was a big, strong 2-year-old, with amazing natural self-carriage and rhythm,” JR recalled. “When I watched him whether it was in the show pen or practice arena, he just looked like it was easy for him and he could hold that rhythm forever.”

By the end of the year, Calvin was purchased from his breeders, Capital Quarter Horses, and there has been nothing but success ever since.

“When we were looking for a show horse for JR we wanted a taller horse with self-carriage,” Cole explained. “Calvin fit the bill with the self-carriage and being just shy of 16 hands.”

There have been Congress Championships and American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) and National Snaffle Bit Association (NSBA) World Championship titles and futurity wins almost too many to keep track of. In fact, it seems there’s nothing they haven’t been able to achieve.

“He wants to be good and is so natural,” Cole Baker said. “He’s truly a show horse.”

In 2020 Cole showed Calvin to an AQHA Reserve World Championship title in Level 3 Junior Western Pleasure and won the 3-Year-Old Circuit Championship at the Arizona Sun Circuit. JR and Calvin claimed an AQHA Reserve World Championship title in Level 2 Amateur Western Pleasure as well as the 3-Year-Old Limited and Open Non-Pro Western Pleasure championships at the Arizona Sun Circuit and a Reserve Championship in the 3-Year-Old Limited Non-Pro Western Pleasure at the NSBA World Show.

But they were just getting started.

At the 2021 A Sudden Impulse Futurity, Cole and Calvin won the Open Western Pleasure Maturity. They placed third in Junior Western Pleasure at the Quarter Horse Congress then capped off the year by winning an AQHA World Championship title in Level 3 Junior Western Pleasure, ending the year as the NSBA High Point Open Western Pleasure and Junior Western Pleasure horse.

JR and Calvin had a year dreams are made of.

They won the Amateur Western Pleasure and the Breeders Championship Futurity Non-Pro Western Pleasure Maturity at the NSBA World Show; the Amateur Western Pleasure at the Quarter Horse Congress and an AQHA World Championship in Amateur Western Pleasure. They ended the year as NSBA High Point Champions in Amateur Western Pleasure.

“He is a blast to show and just ride,” JR said. “His lope has so much natural carriage and rhythm. He’s very honest and has a ton of try. As a rider, you just have to focus on your rhythm. The biggest key is to stay soft and keep in rhythm with him.”

And his personality is definitely mellowing as he ages.

“When he was younger, Calvin never had a super strong personality,” JR said. “He was always a good horse and well behaved. These days however, he knows he is special, and you can just see it in his eye. After a class, when we are on the wall waiting for the results, you will notice him constantly turning his head and looking back at me. That’s him trying to get you to scratch his neck.

As soon as you start scratching his neck he will look back forward. You stop and he’s back to staring at you again. He still sleeps all the time.”

Perhaps those personality traits help Calvin to stay competitive in the show pen as this year has been just as successful as the past two.

Cole rode Calvin to wins in the Open Western Pleasure Maturity at both the A Sudden Impulse and Back To Berrien futurities. They earned a Reserve NSBA World Championship title in Junior Western Pleasure and won the BCF 4 to 6-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure there as well. They were Quarter Horse Congress Champions in Junior Western Pleasure and were Reserve in the Open Western Pleasure Maturity.

Not to be outdone, JR rode Calvin to wins in the Non-Pro Western Pleasure Maturity at both the Virginia Spring Breakout and the Back To Berrien Futurity. They claimed a NSBA World  Championship title in Amateur Western Pleasure and won the BCF Non-Pro Western Pleasure Maturity at the NSBA World Show. They followed that up with a Reserve Congress Championship title in Amateur Western Pleasure and placed third in the Non-Pro Western Pleasure Maturity.

This month, Line Up Behind defends his Junior Western Pleasure and Amateur Western Pleasure titles at the AQHA World Show.

“I have said this before, but I truly believe it. When you compete at this level, the difference between those top group of horses is like splitting hairs,” JR said. “They are all great horses. Its going to take a really good ride. It needs to be error free, consistent both ways and will take 110%. We have worked very hard this year, and we are going to go out there, put it all on the line and see where the chips fall.”

Next year Calvin moves up to the Senior Pleasure and JR says he’d really like to see him go in that class and have some success, both for him and Cole.

“I will continue to show in Amateur Western Pleasure and at some point down the road, we will probably start adding events for him,” JR said. “He’s pretty fancy at changing leads.”

Although he says he and Cole always hoped for and strived to achieve the level of success they have enjoyed but Calvin has far exceeded even his lofty goals.

“I always thought that Calvin would be good enough and I knew I could get him shown, but it takes a lot of different pieces to all come together to win at this level,” he admitted. “I could never have imagined having the success we have had. But I am proud of what we have accomplished and the journey to get here.”

This year the journey has been even more fun, albeit even more challenging. After a 14-year hiatus, Melissa returned to the show pen with Flo Rida, a 2019 sorrel gelding by No Doubt Im Lazy out of Why Not Invite Me.

Once again, Cole was tasked with finding a member of the Cook family the perfect partner, a task that took over a year.

“Buggs caught my eye In Tampa in January,” Cole said. “He has so much presence and self-carriage. As soon as I saw him I knew he was the one for Melissa. He has lots of expression and his movement is natural so he is not hard to show. He enjoys his job.”

Initially, Melissa was not sure it was the right time to start back showing.

“At first, I was thinking ‘I do not need to show.’ I have two kids to get ready for showing with the clothes and make-up. Before long I know Elizabeth will be started. I just felt like there was no way I would have time and be able to enjoy it all,” she said.

But JR was right there to encourage her.

“He kept telling me, ‘We got this, We can do it. We can do anything.  I always would just roll my eyes at him,” she said. “But I am glad I let him talk me back into it. I’m not going lie, some show schedules are little more stressful than others. But JR and I are a good team. I just make sure I take care of the hair and makeup! The biggest thing to do is just have everything ready and prepared.”

It didn’t take long for Flo Rida (Buggs) to start finding his way to the top of Western Pleasure classes. Cole got started early by winning the 3-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure with Buggs at the Fun In The Sun Futurity. They also won the 3-Year-Old & Over Novice Horse Open Western Pleasure at the A Sudden Impulse Futurity and at the Virginia Spring Breakout. After that they were Reserve Champions in the 3-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure at the Georgia On My Mind Circuit and then claimed an NSBA World Championship title in the 3-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure before placing fifth in the 3-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure at the Quarter Horse Congress.

Melissa, who said it’s been nice getting back to showing, got started in her quest for success with Buggs by being named co-champion in the 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure at the Georgia On My Mind Circuit. They won both the Open and Limited divisions of the 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure at the Back To Berrien Futurity and at the Big A/Stars N Stripes circuits. At the NSBA World Show they claimed a bronze trophy in the 3-Year-Old Limited Non-Pro Western Pleasure and won the BCF 3-Year-Old Limited Non-Pro Western Pleasure before heading off to the Quarter Horse Congress where they placed fifth in the 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure.

Cole feels that once Melissa got back in the groove of showing, she has had very consistent rides.

“She improves all the time, which has resulted in futurity wins and top placings everywhere we have been this year,” he said. “Melissa is a fantastic pilot. I never have to worry. Most of the time she gets Buggs ready for me.

Now that Melissa has some shows under her belt with Buggs she is happy to be back.

“I always loved showing when I was younger and still love it today,” Melissa said. “I feel like my feel came back to me relatively quick and after the first couple times of showing, I felt like I was back to my old self. Buggs helped me too. He is a really nice show horse. Even though he is a 3-year-old, and still considered a young futurity horse, he wants to be a good show horse. We went through all the normal challenges of showing a growing 3-year-old pleasure horse. But he made it easier.”

Next year Melissa plans to show Buggs in the Amateur Pleasure as well as in Non-Pro Western Maturity classes at all the major show circuits and futurities.

It will be interesting since she will then be competing against her husband, something JR is surprisingly looking forward to doing.

“Melissa and I are pretty competitive,” JR said. “It’s friendly competition, but a competition none the less. We always had a good time showing against one another when e were younger. She has always been the better showman than me, so she used to beat me all the time. So we will see if I can change that this time around.”

Melissa is actually looking forward to showing with JR. “It’s been a long time since we have.”

But for now she is focused on becoming a solid team with Buggs.

“He’s somewhat like a mare in that when you walk up to his stall he gives you a look like ‘Don’t touch me,’ but then when you start petting him, he just turns into a big softy,” she explained.

His personality reminds Melissa of ChristenOnImpulse, an APHA mare she showed as she transitioned into the Amateur Division, ultimately winning multiple World Championship titles.

“She did the same thing, and she and I got along well and had a lot of success, so maybe his personality is perfect for me,” Melissa said.

And he is developing into an excellent show horse.

“He has really good presence in the arena. He is a pretty horse, and when he is all dressed up and showing I think it’s really flashy,” she said. “He’s a good jogger so when he enters an arena everybody sees how well he jogs and he makes that good first impression, which is a big plus. Then when they ask you to lope, you look at him and it looks amazing. He does all things that you want a Western Pleasure horse to do exceptionally well.”

While JR and Melissa are enjoying their return to the show pen, what makes it special is sharing their passion for the sport with their three daughters.

“Family is very important to Melissa and I and the girls are priority number one to us,” JR said. “The memories that we are making now, I hope will stay with the girls forever. The girls love the horse shows. My grandpa and grandma have Halter horses, and the horse shows where we are all together are extra special.”

Georgia, the oldest is showing Lazy Illusion, a 2013 bay gelding by Lazy Loper out of A Certain Illusion in Youth Western Pleasure, Showmanship and Horsemanship.

This year they won a bronze trophy in Novice Youth Western Pleasure 18 & Under at the NSBA World Show. At the Quarter Horse Congress last month, they placed fourth in Youth Western Pleasure 11 & Under; sixth in Novice Youth Pleasure 13 & Under; fourth in Youth Showmanship 11 & Under; and sixth in Level 1 Showmanship 13 & Under.

Georgia also has a new Hunter Under Saddle partner in Lukes Like Money, a 2014 black gelding by Fabuluke and out of Im Mony Too. They will compete in Level 1 Youth Hunter Under Saddle 11 & Under and Youth 13 & Under classes. At their first appearance at a Congress together they placed eighth in Youth Hunter Under Saddle 11 & Under and fifth in Novice Youth Hunter Under Saddle 13 & Under.

Georgia has been working hard and improving with every show. Like her parents, she has lofty goals. In fact, she has set her sights on showing Line Up Behind.

“At some point I am going to have to hand the reins over to her,” JR said. “We may see her show him in Western Pleasure class or two later next year. Eventually he will probably become her horse completely. But I think/hope I have one more year before that happens.”

Isabella shows Famous N Foolish, a 2008 sorrel gelding by Hes Suddenly Famous and out of Prestons Angel, in Small Fry Small Fry Showmanship, Horsemanship and Western Pleasure. Together have earned numerous circuit championships at some of the most competitive AQHA shows across the country.

The Cooks’ youngest daughter, Elizabeth, will also be starting her show career soon.

And the Bakers will no doubt be there to help her.

“Liz and Cole are very good at finding the right horse for the right rider,” Melissa said. “They have a knack for building the right teams.”

The Cooks credit their trainers with helping them navigate their return to showing.

“They have been such an integral part of our success,” JR said. “Cole, Liz, and all the members of their team are amazing. There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle that have to come together, and they are a huge piece to that puzzle. They take impeccable care of our horses and are great with the girls.”