By ALLISON WOOD

Staff Writer

GRANGER TWP. — Before Courtney Kobak was born, her mother Jody had been on bed rest and was unable to ride her horse.

“When she came home from the hospital two days later, she rode first thing, and there I was,” Kobak said. “It’s in my blood.”

Like her mother, Courtney, now 19, has competed in shows since age 5 and was ranked third in the nation as a youth all-around competitor in 2007.

After being recruited by coaches who saw her at shows, she will attend Auburn University in Alabama on an equestrian scholarship in the fall. Last week, the Division I team won a national championship at a show in Texas.

In March, the township resident was the all-around champion in the amateur division at the 2008 March to the Arch show in St. Louis and last year qualified for the Ohio Quarter Horse Youth Association’s world invitational team in Fort Worth, Texas.

“Last year I was gone nearly 40 weekends,” she said. “I’ve been everywhere from Canada to Fort Worth to Missouri.”

Courtney Kobak will attend Auburn University in Alabama on an equestrian scholarship in the fall. The 19-year-old has competed in shows since she was 5 and was ranked third in the nation as a youth all-around competitor in 2007. Kobak’s mare Lacie and her 2-month-old foal Kay stay at the family’s ranch in Granger Township while her teammate Henry is stabled in Westfield Township. (Andrew Dolph | Staff Photographer)

Kobak said she is glad she will be able to compete while going to school because her current show schedule keeps her on the road year-round.

“In the past year, I have done things I have only dreamed of,” she said.

For the last two years, the 2006 Highland High School graduate took college classes on the Internet so she could keep competing in shows, which can each last for several days.

However, going to Auburn will mean leaving behind her teammate, Tall Dark & Choclate (Henry), who have been together since late 2006.

“Henry has to stay in Ohio and freeze,” she said. “He likes to act like a tough guy, but if you get up and hug him, he’s like ‘aw shucks.’ It’s all an act.”

In collegiate events, two competitors draw for horses that are at the show site and compete against each other. While at home, Kobak and Henry work with trainers Dan and Darlene Trein at their stables in Westfield Township. She said she has known the Treins her whole life, and they were also her mom’s trainers since she was 11 years old.

The Kobaks are in the process of building an arena area next to their barn so they can keep and exercise more of their horses there. Currently, Kobak’s mare, Lacey, which she used to show, and her 2-month-old foal, Kay, are the only ones she has at home.

After getting Henry, Kobak only had about a month of training until they started competing against riders who have showed the same horses for several years.

“The horse doesn’t know you, you don’t know the horse,” she said. “Every weekend we learn something new about each other.”

Henry will not be lonely in Kobak’s absence — her sister Nicole, 10, also competes in shows with him and is nationally ranked in her age division.

Although she loves competing on the national level, Kobak is looking forward to attending Auburn.

“When I go to school, I’ll be able to do something I love,” she said. “Every day, I can go out and see the horses.”

Wood may be reached at 330-721-4050 or allisonwood@ohio.net.