Luico Hopper

I grew up in the small town of Bassett, Virginia. I am sixth in a family of seven. My parents owned a farm where they grew lots of vegetables and had many farm animals. My father plowed the land with a mule that he would borrow from a neighbor. When he finished working the fields he would ride the mule side-saddle style and bareback back to the mule’s owner. This is my first recollection of getting excited with wanting to ride a horse.

At the age of about ten a few friends and I would often sneak onto our neighbor's pasture and try to ride their mule and pony bareback without any tack. Once while I was riding the pony he got stung by a bee and galloped across the field at breakneck speed. I stayed on for a bit and then fell off. I was frightened and excited at the same time. This was a feeling I had never experienced before. It was then I knew that I wanted to one day own and ride horses.

As a touring musician, I would often take basic riding lessons and go on trail rides in my free time. This really increased my interest in wanting to know more about horses. In 1998 my youngest daughter Nathalie rode at a stable in NJ and I spoke to the owner about lessons for me as well. He told me that I was too tall and weighed too much. Shortly after this, I decided to find another trainer and purchase my own horse.

After finding a trainer, I purchased a 12 year old thoroughbred horse name Miles who had previously come from the racetracks. It was a real learning experience for me just dealing with him as he was very high strung. An example was the day he galloped uncontrollably with me for a half-mile trek around the farm while all my barn mates watched. Portions of my mind told me that I wouldn’t survive but I did. Again, it was the rush of the moment and the uncertainty that sparked my interest to become a better rider.

About a year into my riding journey I started taking lessons on my daughter’s equitation horse Limo. After about 6 months I did my first show at a farm named Snowbird farm and I was the top winner in my class with three blue ribbons. Next, I competed at Devon and was Grand Champion in my Equitation class. From there I decided to move to the jumper arena and took lessons and workshops with many of the top jumper riders including, Neil Shapiro, George Morris, Ann Kursinski, and Lisa Jaquin to name a few. After seeing Laura Chapot ride at a Hits show in NY I started training with her and that lasted for three and a half years. It was great riding with Laura because I would sometimes receive training from Olympic riders Mary & Frank Chapot as well. During this time I was rider of the week at the Winter Equestrian Festival and third in my overall jumper class for the 2005 season. I also showed at most of the A-class horse shows including Lake Placid and have enjoyed much success.

I believe my love and partnership with horses is spiritual and symbiotic. I believe it takes the willingness of the horse and rider to accomplish great success. “There is no secret so close as that between a rider and his horse.”

Links:
Luico's music: https://luicohopper.hearnow.com/
Watch the "Symbiotic Souls" Official Video: https://youtu.be/xE3Sh1kRD5E

Instagram: @luicohopper