It really pays to listen to your wife.
Marcos Chocron-Arocha was fully prepared to sell his 3-year-old mare, Poccahontas. He liked her, people that rode her said nice things about her, but she hadn’t knocked anyone’s socks off in her training. And, when you’re in the horse business, sometimes you have to sell horses. The Aledo, Texas, cutter felt comfortable this was one of those times.
Then, he got a phone call from his wife, Veronica Hernandez
“My wife called me at 5 a.m. in the morning when I was going to work [Poccahontas],” said Chocron-Arocha, in Fort Worth preparing for the NCHA Futurity. “And, she said to me, ‘Marcos, I had a dream that that mare is going to do something. Don’t sell her.'”
He tried to protest. The mare was nice, sure, but was she really so nice that he shouldn’t sell her?
In the end, Chocron-Arocha listened and didn’t sell. That was wise, because Veronica was on to something.
Poccahontas, the mare that almost got sold, absolutely came alive during the NCHA Futurity. She performed well in the first round of the Open with trainer Nate Lansford, marking a 218. Then, the daughter of EquiStat Elite $10 Million Sire Metallic Rebel was lights out with Chocron-Arocha in the saddle. They won the Amateur Intermediate on Dec. 2 and the Amateur title on Dec. 4—banking a combined $72,060.
The victories were Chocron-Arocha’s second and third wins at the NCHA Futurity. In 2021, he won the NCHA Futurity Amateur with RR Illegal Smile. He credited the team at Michael Cooper Performance Horses, including Cooper and his son, fellow trainer Lance Cooper and thanked his business partner Harvey Keene. Help from Katie Facincani, who cares for the horse, and arena helpers Clay Johnson and R.L. Chartier also were key to making things happen.
“I think if you work hard and you persevere and you understand that it’s not about you—it’s about your whole team—you can achieve great things,” he said. “When you only work on yourself and you don’t trust the people around you, you’re not going to go too far. It takes a village to be where we are right now.”
Team Cooper: Divide and ConquerGetting Poccahontas to top shape required a division of duties between father and son, Chocron-Arocha said.
“Between Michael and Lance, they put a lot of time on this horse,” he said. “So all this year we’ve been hauling. Michael Cooper has been hauling my mare, Honky Tonk Funk, in the Open for the World Finals and I’ve been hauling DMAC Wide Track for the Unlimited [Amateur] Finals.
“So, we were not at home. Lance was doing almost 90% of the work [on the mare]. He took her to Colorado for two months, so he was pulling the miles on her while Michael was working on me to get me better [with my] showmanship.”
The mare got better and better, was willing and eager to please, but Chocron-Arocha said no one thought the mare wanted to be the kind of show horse that would win at the sport’s biggest event. He said they didn’t know until she walked into the herd at Will Rogers Coliseum.
“When Nate Lansford showed her for the first time and marked a 218 in the Open, we were…’Wow! She really wants to do it!’ And, everything was, I guess, just fun after that,” he said.
The mare fired for her owner every time, winning the NCHA Futurity Intermediate Amateur with a 219.5 and the Amateur with a 220.5.
“It’s been just consistent. She gets better and better every time,” said Chocron-Arocha. “She’s so smart to fix my mistakes when I ride her and just wait for me—it’s just unbelievable.”
In addition to Chocron-Arocha’s victories, the Michael Cooper barn also found success when Jimmie Annoot won the NCHA Futurity Limited Open with Show Biz On Broadway. They will be represented by five horses in Friday’s Open Semifinals: Cooper has two entries, Lance has two entries and Lansford has one.
“The consistency, perseverance, doing everything with a good heart—it paid off,” Chocron-Arocha said.
Poccahontas Pedigree: The Power of “Poo” MaresBred by Paul Hansma or Julie Hansma, of Weatherford, Texas, Poccahontas is the first money earner in EquiStat out of NCHA Futurity Non-Pro finalist Daisy Poochanan (by Smooth As A Cat).
Hailing from a long line of “Poo” mares, the NCHA Futurity Amateur winner’s third dam is NCHA Open Horse of the Year and $714,937 producer Hicapoo. Tracing back to powerful producer Super Poo, it’s the same family that produced EquiStat Elite $1 Million Producer Poosmal.
2024 NCHA Futurity Amateur Reserve ChampionsJust a half-point behind Chocron-Arocha in the Amateur were Reserve Champions Rollz Of Candy and Wyatt Benson, of Lac La Biche, Alberta, Canada. He and the offspring of Candy Girl (U) marked a 220 to earn $40,183 for owner Sandero Ranch Ltd, also of Lac La Bische.
In the Intermediate Amateur, the Reserve Championship went to Bloc Talker and Justin Schuette, who marked a 218.5. They earned $17,888 for owners Louis Schuette and Rhonda Ferry, of Pleasanton, California.
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